Islamabad, March 31 The videos circulating on social media showing Pakistani police personnel using brute force against the Maachhi community -- a traditional fishing group -- in the Sindh province have raised grave concerns.
The footage showed male and female police officials storming the fragile shanty shelters of the impoverished Maachhi community in the Umerkot region of Sindh, "dragging innocent, helpless, fast-observing women and young girls, tearing at their clothes, and huddling them into police vans," a report said on Tuesday.
"The images send shivers down the spine. For a moment, one might assume that a massive operation was underway to capture hardened criminals involved in murder or terrorism. But no, these were simple, vulnerable women, young girls, and children. The male members of their families were either already under detention or out earning their livelihood," a report in Pakistani daily 'Business Recorder' detailed.
Citing reports, it stated that this operation was carried out in compliance with a lower court's order to vacate a 10,000-square-foot plot long inhabited by the Maachhi community.
However, the report said that the manner in which the police, tasked with safeguarding life, honour, and property, implemented the order was deeply concerning.
"Even if eviction was required, was such blind force necessary -- especially in the holy month of Ramazan? Were peaceful negotiations, persuasion, and lawful restraint exhausted before resorting to violence? The answer, painfully visible in the viral videos, appears to be no," it stated.
"The lower court's decision was neither final nor beyond challenge. It could have been appealed before the District and Sessions Court, then the High Court, and ultimately the apex court. This legal process is well understood. Why then the unusual haste and aggressive efficiency when legal options still existed? Why such swiftness only when the occupants were poor and vulnerable?" it further questioned.
According to the report, Sindh police have gained notoriety for tilting towards elites and politically influential individuals, with the machinery of law often moving swiftly for the powerful.
"For the poor, it crawls -- often obstructed by discouragement, delay, and bureaucratic evasion. A poor villager seeking to lodge an FIR is made to revisit police stations repeatedly, testing his patience and dignity. Connections and currency too often determine access to justice," it noted.
In Umerkot, the report said, Pakistani police misused authority and crossed limits despite having alternatives such as dialogue before force and mediation instead of humiliation---yet "arrogance and unchecked power" prevailed.
Condemning the incident, the report said, "This is not a minor or avoidable episode. It is a collective shame. Poverty and vulnerability are not crimes. The law of the land is equal and sacrosanct for all, without discrimination. Yet time and again, minions face consequences while the powerful evade justice through influence and position."
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