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Bannu jailbreak exposes inadequacies of police force
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April 27, 2012
The recent jailbreak wherein some 500 armed militants mounted an assault on Bannu Jail and successfully freed around 400 militant inmates is yet another stark reminder to security managers of this country that threat of terrorism from north-western tribal belt is far from over. It demonstrated that militant outfits not only possess the capability to regroup and staging a comeback but also the ability to mount a major terrorist assault anywhere in the country. The incident also raises some fundamental questions about the state of preparedness of our civilian law-enforcement agencies, especially police, to deal with threat of urban terrorism.

Attack on Bannu Jail is not the first incident. In past attacks on Manawa training center and a police training school in Lahore clearly depict the weaknesses of police and other law-enforcement agencies to guard themselves against a surprise threat and emergency situation.

Despite scoring major victories against militant outfits in Swat in 2009 and in South Waziristan, Bajaur and Orakzai Agency, militant networks have been weakened, but not eliminated. Moreover, though these military operations have done damage to their physical infrastructure and command and control system, due to inefficiency in law-enforcement and politico-judicial framework of counter-terrorism, the gains made by military are now gradually losing their effectiveness.

Let us discuss some aspects of this hydra headed threat. At the face of it we are least prepared to deal with the threat of urban terrorism. The tactics and strategies to deal with terrorism in urban centers are qualitatively different from means and tactics employed in tribal regions. Despite an impressive track record of counter-terrorism in border tribal regions, currently Pakistan lacks a smart urban counter-terrorism policy, and it has failed to match up with smartly operating militant outfits that have shown innovation and adaptability in their strategies with the passage of time.

The conventional methods of policing like erecting barricades at city entry-points, body searching and installing scanners are not the right answers to militant challenge. The efficacy of such methods is tactical in nature while a strategic answer is needed to this conundrum. The police force, despite its commando units, is mostly amateurish, under resourced, underpaid and very poorly equipped. Reviewing, reorganizing, restructuring and re-equipping the police with special emphasis on counter-terrorism is need of the hour.

Militants have been involved in various types of crimes, and, to date, very little attention has been paid to this facet of counter-terrorism. Another deplorable fact is that majority of the police machinery has been engaged in providing security to the VIPs and VVIPs. Judicious and purposeful deployment of police contingents entrusted with night patrolling, stationing at strategic city points with a reorientation of their threat perceptions ensuring politically neutral policing and law enforcement should be ensured.

No solid development has taken place on this front either. State has failed to bring to justice known terrorists. Hundreds of arrested terrorists have gone scot-free from courts due to lack of evidence against them. Moreover, there have been perpetual delays in initiating trials against big guns like Sufi Muhammad, chief of banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhamamdi (TNSM), and former spokesperson for Swat Taliban Muslim Khan etc. Though many questions of fundamental human rights violation arise out of this issue, there is a need of having an effective counter-terrorism mechanism which should ensure the timely arrests and successful prosecution of arrested militants.

Unlike military which is primary guard against the militants in tribal border region, in urban centers, police and other law-enforcement agencies have to perform this daunting task for which they are least prepared. The police force, despite the ‘Elite’ emblem attached to its commando units, is a hopeless entity. The issues of capacity-building and political interference are major obstacles in dealing with issues of militancy and terrorism. Police and other law-enforcement agencies are poorly trained, ill-equipped and under-resourced to deal with terrorist threat in urban centers of the country.

The dynamics of militant violence in urban centers of the country has all the makings and hallmarks of metamorphosing into a major conflict. It has constantly shown signs of stability with indications of potential destabilizing factors which keep rearing their head every now and then. As long political players and stakeholders do not sort out their differences the law and order situation is least likely to improve.

Moreover, the tendency of one-size-fits-all policy has been counter-productive and it has engendered confusions. Obviously, the advantage of carrying out a full-fledged military operations, targeted surgical strikes or airstrikes are out of bound in thickly populated urban centers. Moreover, unlike military or paramilitary contingents deployed in the tribal regions; police have to look after the matters of security in the cities.

The writer is senior analyst at ICPVTR Singapore

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