Counter Terrorism - The Role of Police Stations Concerns and a Way Forward

Pakistan is today faced with a complex and difficult security situations due to widespread terrorism and insurgency in a wide spread areas. Even tTerrorism by a single group with a clearly defined cause is always difficult to confront and fight, even by a single group with a clearly defined cause but we have to deal with an intricate situationa faceless enemy that has varying points of genesis,multiple shades of backgroundsi deologies and multiple agendas. What is the most obvious fact about this enemy is that its actsand has have affected the entire country. These various groups are challenging the writ of the state with unprecedented violence; and in some situations we even note an alliance amongst them against in their fight againstwith the law enforcement agencies. Fight against terrorism is not only difficult but is also bloody and messy particularly when the political leadership does not have a common stance and or clarity of vision to deal with such a daunting a threat of this magnitude. It needs to be tackled at various levels i.e. ideological, strategic, operational/tactical and developmental. It is absolutely imperative that these aspects are

addressed simultaneously through a sound and comprehensive policy. Police and law enforcement agencies have the responsibility to confront and fight against the terrorists through strategic planning and effective tactical action on ground. Today Pakistan Army, civil armed forces and police are engaged in this complex fight and have given unparalleled sacrifices to counter the terrorists. When we talk about anti terrorism policy on the aspects of strategic and technical aspects, we think of modern weapons, high-tech intelligence collection, and of new specialized forces. However, tThe key and sustainable criminal justice system that has to dealdealing with this threat in the frontline does not receive the same level of importance that is vital in thisthereby endangering the existential struggle for this country. It This system comprises police, civil law enforcement agencies, army, prosecution, courts and most important the courts. Our focus is on the most critical part of the police that is in at the frontline of this never ending fight. We will be talking about the role of police stations in this effort to deal with terrorism in the country. Since fancy gadgets, Swat SWAT teams and the specialized counter terrorism forces are attractive and have a media value that has over the years been embedded in our sub-conscious due to multiple stories of heroism in the movies and the TV seriesonscreen heroism,; we tend to lose sight of the basics. The basic unit of law enforcement in Pakistan, and for that matter internationally, is a police station. This unit is pivotal to the long complex and sustained fight against terrorism. The p Police station has a unique position of being a part of the community where it is located. It has a wealth of

information about the local population, the very populace. The population amongst whom the faceless terrorists find refuge. It is this population where it also has its affiliates and supporters. The terrorists also have the advantage of free movement without being noticed. Only an alert, experienced, sensitized and well trained police personnel posted in the police station can identify and collect actionable intelligence during their patrolling in their beats and in their daily

interaction with the local population. Police station also has an elaborate system of documentation and an institutional memory about the people, their background and a system of information about any unusual activity in its jurisdiction. We have not tapped this resource. The information that flows into the police station in bits pieces may look insignificant but is of tremendous value in the jigsaw puzzle of the overall picture. We only need to reorient the direction of the police stations and gear them to focus on this continuing battle against a widespread network of terrorists spread far and wide. The Central Intelligence Unit at the provincial level as well as at the Federal level needs to create that link to benefit from these very important sources of information. This will not help in gathering hard intelligence about the terrorists but would help in assessments, trends in terrorism/insurgency and their inter linkage at the national and international levels. Repeatedly we have observed that actionable intelligence and successful investigation have emerged from the local police station. Its importance has never been recognized and the police station has only been maligned by repetitive negative political statements in the media that talk of only so-called thana culture. It is time that in the national security plan, the crucial role of the police stations is recognized and integrated in the overall plan as a key source of intelligence and the information emanating from it is used to develop actionable intelligence against various terrorist outfits and also used to determine the trends and devise the strategies to win this ongoing battle. The pPolice station is also the first responder in dealing with terrorists attacks or action on information about an incident or presence of terrorists. They are present in every corner of the country and have the advantage of securing the support and help of local population. Comparatively specialized forces are small in number and have the disadvantage of being located away from the scene of incidence. It needs to be accepted that the terrorists have the inherent advantage of selecting their its targets. Its purpose is to create fear and a sense of insecurity by targeting specific sections of the population in a way that attracts media attention. This can be done anywhere and at any time. The only check against such act of lawlessness is the population. The only effective and credible law enforcement that can ensure this support is the Police Station. It is therefore important that while going for huge investments in any antiterrorism forces and units, the police station is not neglected. Its strength should be integrated in the overall plan with a key role allocated to it for dealing with the terrorists groups. It should be properly resourced resourced, and the police station should be given modern equipment, reliable transport and improved communications through Telecom and Iinternet. It is also important that well trained and educated officers are appointed in these police stations that who are able to use the modern gadgets for exchange of information; they and should also be trained to collect information and confront the terrorists locally. Because of the outreach of police station in every nick and corner of the country, it has unique advantage of playing an effective role in general crackdown on the suspected targets simultaneously on ground and in denying the space to the terrorists. A coordinated and sustained action on a wide scale s for search and arrest of the terrorists and their supporters will pay immediate dividends in our fight to restore peace. It will also degrade the capability of the
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terrorists organizations that who will find it difficult to find refuge in the due face of such unrelenting actions by the local police. If we recognize the importance of the police station as a key element in anti- terrorism strategy and integrate it in the plan, the battle would be half won. It is the only police station that can ensure a sustained operation against the terrorism. The sooner we recognize it, the better it would be for Pakistan and the world at large. Preceding paras bring out the following important aspects of the role of the police in fighting terrorism comprehensively:i) Police station is essentially part of the local community. It can therefore secure the cooperation of the local population and also deny the space to the terrorists and their supporters. ii) iii) It can become a prime source of intelligence for the national data base. Being the first responder and with its far reaching presence, it everywhere can act on actionable intelligence in real-time. iv) Its association and involvement will be of immense value in investigation of the cases involving acts of terrorism. v) It can also help in drying up the resources of the terrorist organizations by creating awareness amongst the population against the violence/terrorism. Recommendations. i) Training of the personnel in public relations and service orientation to make their role acceptable and effective as part of the community. ii) Building a linkage of the police station with the NGOs and organizations that should be given due priority through provision of resources to all concerned for awareness and cooperation of community. iii) Creating dDirect linkage for sending information in time to the Central Data Base through Internet and Telecommunication. This will require equipment and trained personnel to be located in the police station for transmission of the information. iv) Being the first responder it is absolutely essential that each police station is provided the latest weapon and other security gadgets to confront terrorists. v) Posting of trained personnel from elite and investigation wing to exclusively deal with terrorist cases. vi) Integrating of tThe role of the police station for sustained and wide scale action to be incorporated in the national strategic and tactical plans.