Of crime and punishment
It was crime most heinous. The incident happened not very far from Lahore city on the motorway and not in some desolate backwaters. So the outrage was not unexpected. While the tragedy has shaken people it has also brought out some ugly facets of our society: how one sees crime against women. For instance, what the Lahore police chief said reflects the thinking of a large segment of society that prefers to blame the victim.
CCPO Umer Sheikh was compelled to apologise and to retract his callous comments. But there are still many apologists in the government protecting him. Not surprisingly, he stays in his post. Could he have done so in any civilised society?
What Prime Minister Imran Khan said in his interview to a private TV channel the other day may not be as crude and provocative as the Lahore police chief's comments, but many will see in his words the reflection of a similar mindset. He blames a broken family system, Bollywood, and "rampant obscenity" in society for the growing number of sex crimes in the country.
He proposes "chemical castration" to suppress libido or making sex offenders impotent. He believes in the public hanging of rapists. But the idea that such punishments can purge society of sex crimes is a mediaeval one. The motorway rape case has exposed once again the failure of our lawenforcement and legal systems.
The leadership has failed to understand that what happened to the victim of the motorway rape case was not because the criminals had sexual urges; the crime was the result of the failure of the law-enforcement agencies to provide security to citizens. It also shows how vulnerable women are in this society. They are unsafe because of the attitude of people such as police officer Umer Sheikh sitting in high offices. It is the culture of impunity that makes women more insecure.
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Instead of taking the case more seriously, the tragic incident has been turned into a political spectacle. Constant running commentary on the electronic media on how the investigation is proceeding indicates a non-serious attitude. The administration seemed more interested in political point-scoring than in focusing on the investigation. The names of the suspects were revealed before they were even arrested or the investigation completed.
The motorway rape case has exposed once again the failure of our law-enforcement and legal systems. The suspects were reportedly involved in multiple criminal cases including gang rape but never prosecuted. They were either bailed out or would be freed by the courts. The police had failed to track down these absconders.
One cannot agree more with the Supreme Court chief justice that incidents like this are reflective of a "politicised" police force that has failed to provide adequate protection to citizens' lives and property. The chief justice noted that "effective policing" was indispensable to the government to perform its prime function of maintaining law and order.
But unfortunately, it seems that neither Mr Khan nor the Punjab provincial administration is willing to accept this basic fault in the police system. One recent example of using police for political ends is the appointment of Umer Sheikh, who was earlier bypassed for promotion because of a controversial record. His moving up the ladder and given one of the most powerful posts is based on political expediency. The prime minister went out of his way to defend his appointment. Surely, his apology notwithstanding, Sheikh's remarks on the motorway case are enough to get a good idea of his calibre as a police officer.
Of course, the politicisation of police has not taken place only now. Every military and civilian government has been responsible for using the police for political control. After decades of misuse and neglect, our police force has lost its effectiveness in combating crime, upholding the law or protecting citizens.
But it is most unfortunate that the PTI government that came to power promising to reform the police and other institutions is following the same old path. Professionalism is sacrificed at the altar of political expediency. The frequent change in the command of Punjab Police has demoralised the force. Officers of Umer Sheikh's ilk are now the face of the premier law-enforcement agency in the country's biggest and politically most powerful province. The latest rape case is just the tip of the iceberg of the deteriorating law and order situation in the province.
Instead of addressing these systemic faults, the government would like to welcome a regime of harsh punishments such as public hanging and the "castration" of those involved in rape and other criminal cases. Such punishments may have considerable populist appeal but will not end crime.