For the first time in the history of Balochistan the police department employees took to roads in an aggressive way in Quetta on Monday, January 25, and broke into chief minister secretariat and governor house situated on heavily guarded VIP thoroughfare in central part of the city against what it apparently seems to be the issue of low salaries, but in fact the expression of long-piling antagonism of police force against the provincial administration for its self-centred policies. Numbering hundreds and attired both in uniform and plain clothes, the policemen rampaged through the chief minister secretariat and chanted objectionable slogans against the chief minister Nawab Aslam Raisani for what they called his indulgence in personal gains while completely overlooking the welfare of common man in general and police personnel in particular. Their violent protest continued all the day long during which they kept on burning tyres at various locations and created hurdles in smooth flow of traffic across the city. Some of them also subjected media personnel to torture in front of the chief minister secretariat after messages were passed on via wireless sets to assail news representatives. Some press reports also alleged that the protesting policemen fired blank shots in the air with their official weapons, which, however, could not be established as according to capital city police officer it has been verified that no official weapon was used on that day. The protestors rejected all kinds of assurances and requests extended to them by Balochistan governor, provincial ministers, home secretary and other incumbents to call off their protest and kept on insisting for issuance of notification regarding raise in their salaries. They, however, dispersed in the evening after assurance by provincial home minister Zafarullah Zehri to consider their demands sympathetically within 15 days.

Baluchistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani

The demands which forced the policemen to resort to such a violent protest include 100% increase in their salaries, doubling the compensation amount of Rs0.5 million paid to legal heirs of the policemen killed in terrorist acts, special training to police to combat unremitting target killings and permission to policemen to shoot the target killers on the spot. Policemen say they are fed up of asking the provincial government for increase in their salaries for the last one year. They say they are unable to get along with their meagre salaries anymore due to inexorable inflation which forced them to hold protest demonstration right inside the chief minister secretariat. They admit that their act was gross violation of police rules and regulations which bar them from holding any protest,   but argue that the chief minister’s apathy towards their plight compelled them to take the extreme action.

Policemen’s aggressive behaviour and gross violation of discipline irked the provincial government a lot and the very next day of the protest it removed capital city police officer Abid Notkani, DIG (operations) Nizam Shahid Durrani and commandant Balochistan Constabulary Shariq Haseeb Bangulzai from their respective posts for their failure to control the mob despite having prior information about the agitation. Three cases were lodged against 250 protesting policemen and more than 20 officials were suspended and put behind the bar. Three separate teams were constituted to probe into the incident. Balochistan chief minister, in a statement from abroad, termed the protest as an intrigue against his government and resolved to cut the hands behind the plot. Provincial police chief Javed Shah Bukhari also endorsed the chief minister’s claim and said that some political activists were also present in the procession who used the police equipment and communication devices to instigate violence. Provincial finance department also issued a special hand out to refute the policemen’s claim of getting less then 6000 rupees as salary by terming it to be Rs10791 per month. However, the finance department’s claim proved to be wrong as a police constable is being paid a monthly salary of Rs5874 in Balochistan.

Meanwhile, a pamphlet allegedly released by police employees regretted the violence on media personnel and termed it a conspiracy to suppress the voice of policemen for their legitimate demands. It blamed Frontier Corps for being behind this plot and called upon the paramilitary force to act dignifiedly like Pakistan Army and not to become a tool in the hands of the provincial administration warning that it could lead to a clash between the two sister organizations. It also criticized judiciary for its inability to punish the terrorists saying that the judges are perhaps afraid of these terrorists. It blamed the chief minister for entrusting Rs200 million of police’s salaries release by the federal government to a firm named “Allaho Holding Limited, Karachi” with the intention to receive its interest. It, however, claimed that the amount was misappropriated by the said firm which thereby led to registration of a case against it in civil line police station in Quetta on December 12, 2009. The police officials asked the government through the pamphlet as to why their salaries could not be raised if the salaries of Army, judiciary and provincial ministers can be increased. They also threatened not to perform security duty on Chehlum of Karbala martyrs and to sit on hunger strike till death instead if their demands were not met by the government.

Apparently, it seems that the issue of salary increase was the sole motive behind the violent protest procession of the policemen. The circumstantial evidences, however, show that the issue of salary enhancement was only a lame excuse for the violent protest as the actual problem lies in the provincial administration’s apathy towards the policemen’s plight. A police constable’s salary is only 6000 rupees with no other fringe benefits. They have to perform duty round the clock and scores of them have so far lost their lives in target killings and bomb attacks across Balochistan. They are paid a compensation amount of only 0.5 million rupees (that too after a hard struggle) in case of being killed in terrorist acts. They have to face the bullets, but have no authority to shoot the assailants and killers on the spot. None of the government officials attend their funeral prayers nor visit their homes to offer condolence to the bereaved families in case of their death in terrorism. Scores of policemen have been killed in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan in a number of attacks over the past few years, but the provincial administration is still unable to trace the culprits. The policemen say when they arrest criminals, they immediately receive phone calls from higher authorities for their release which thereby makes the criminals more audacious to commit crimes on one hand and demoralize the police force on the other hand. Despite their limited resources and odd circumstances the policemen are performing their duties with full devotion, but the provincial administration instead of appreciating the police force upbraids it for being incapable and inefficient. The provincial government financially strong enough to increase the salaries of provincial ministers and legislators, but when it comes the turn of poor policemen the government suddenly feels financial constraints. In fact, all these things led to creation of adverse feelings among the policemen against the provincial administration which continued piling up and ultimately resulted in the form a violent protest against the provincial chief minister. This was the reason that most of the protesting police officials were witnessed chanting slogans against the chief minister during their protest which the chief minister immediately thought as a conspiracy against himself. In fact, this was neither any conspiracy nor any mutiny; it was just the piled-up sentiments of the poor policemen who are striving to achieve a prestigious status in society which they have been denying to. The chief minister is needed to pay due attention to solution of police personnel’s problems instead of looking down upon them once again by terming their justified protest a conspiracy against himself. Moreover, if the protest is accepted as a conspiracy, still nobody can be blamed for it, but the chief minister himself as he is the man who paved the way for this protest by keeping ignoring the policemen’s demands. If the chief minister does not face any financial constraint in increasing the salaries and other privileges of the provincial ministers and in keeping the biggest-ever cabinet of Balochistan’s history which cost the exchequer billions of rupees, why does it feel financial constraints in increasing the salaries of poor policemen which makes only three billion rupees all together?

- Amjad Hussain

Amjad Hussain is a Quetta based journalist associated with Dawn News Television. He is a regular contributor to The Eastern Tribune.