Six years after it promulgated its 2002 Police Order governing the functioning of the force, the military government of President Pervez Musharraf had established very few public safety commissions, supposedly
the cornerstone of the accountability process, and those that existed lacked enforcement mechanisms. The police remained political pawns, with transfers and promotions used to reward those willing to follow illegal
orders and to punish the few officers who dared to challenge their military masters. As an institution, it was widely distrusted and disliked by citizens.

Police reform should be high on the agenda of the democratically-elected governments that have now taken power at the centre and the provinces. Unlike the military did for years, they cannot afford to ignore the
demands of constituents for safety and security.

“Political appointments must end; postings, transfers, recruitment and promotions must be made on merit alone”, says Samina Ahmed, Crisis Group’s South Asia Project Director. “The recommendations of police managerial bodies must be given due weight, and emphasis placed on the police serving and protecting citizens”.

The international community, particularly the U.S. and the European Union, should realise that helping the police and civilian intelligence agencies with training and technical assistance would pay
counter-terrorism dividends. The government and its Western allies would be best served by reallocating resources from the military to the police. This means not only more money and the latest weapons and
equipment, but vitally also better training and an end to military dominance and control of internal law enforcement institutions, processes and decision-making.

“The new civilian government has inherited a brutal and corrupt police force”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director. “Reform will be difficult and requires time, patience and resources, but
it is essential to undertake it”.

The report is co-authored by members of a delegation from the United States National Lawyers Guild and is the result of a ten-day fact-finding visit to Pakistan to assess the status of the judiciary and the prospect for fair elections in light of recent attacks on judicial independence. The report criticizes U.S. foreign policy in Pakistan, concluding that U.S. support for President Musharaff and its failure to demand restoration of the deposed judges will have long-term negative impacts on the judiciary and the rule of law in Pakistan and damage regional safety and security.

The report also concludes that the upcoming elections are unlikely to meet international standards due to widespread systemic and structural problems, including pre-poll abuses and the failure to enforce existing election regulations. Additionally, the report addresses press freedom in Pakistan, noting that severe restrictions faced by all media, in particular the Urdu-language press, constitute a “serious threat” to Pakistan’s democratic development.

“The independence of the judiciary is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy. The United States’ support for a dictator and its failure to demand the reinstatement of the deposed judges is critically damaging demcratic development and threatening regional safety and security,” stated Rule of Law Project Director Devin Theriot-Orr.

David Gespass, the Vice President of the National Lawyers Guild and the leader of the delegation, stated that “We intend to share the report with the American people and place it before our elected representatives to help effect a drastic change in U.S. policy towards Pakistan that emphasizes human rights and democracy as the only real means of reducing the threat of terrorism.”

One respondent, Justice Azmat Saeed of the Lahore High Court, who refused to take the PCO oath, stated that Musharraf said to the U.S.A., I can’t fight the war on terrorism with a free press and an independent judiciary. But you cannot fight terrorism with state terrorism.

Pakistan has become a state where there are suicide bombings going on, where no one is safe. We have now lost more Pakistani soldiers than Americans have lost in Iraq, noted Imran Khan, leader of the Tehreek-e-Insaaf party. If you assess the policy now, it has been a disaster for the U.S., and it’s now become an even bigger disaster for Pakistan. And there’s no end in sight. Radicalism and extremism are growing by the day. This is now a monster that could actually destroy our country, concluded Khan.

Syed Mudasser Ameer, a barrister and a member of the executive committee of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association Action Committee, expressed a common view that when we used to talk about America, it was just another word for freedom. But the United States continued support for Musharraf has changed his views. Now, we say it would be better if we were still ruled by Britain, because there would still be rule of law, stated Ameer.

Professors Roger Normand and Justice (ret’d) Jawwad Khawaja of LUMS established the Rule of Law Project to serve as an academic clearinghouse for documentation and research regarding constitutionalism and the rule of law in Pakistan. The Project is developing a comprehensive report on the impacts of the PCO and seeking information from all lawyers and members of civil society who were arrested, detained, or mistreated following the PCO.