Security check posts in Islamabad, who are they protecting from whom?

Security check posts in Islamabad, who are they protecting from whom?

Pakistan has been through and continues to go through a turbulent time when it comes to the law and order situation in the country. This inconsistency has played havoc with the minds of the people of the country and has had other far reaching effects on
the economy, as well as the country as a whole.

Instead of getting into a highly opinionated and slightly biased rant on all the inept government and the lazy, responsibility shunning nature of the people, this article will rant, in a highly opinionated and slightly biased manner, about one of the many
inconveniences that have emerged as a direct result of the lack of law and order.

The many, many security check posts, or check points if one wishes to get technical, are on every major road in Islamabad. Most roads, such as the scenic Margilla Road, have more than one.

They are there for our own security and protection, we are told. Yet, the question that arises is what exactly are they protecting us from?

Let us break things down; firstly, are they looking for dangerous individuals? To be honest, I will have to admit that they tend to stop people who look slightly suspicious, but the only criteria I seem to have come across driving through, is a beard, Shalwar
Kameez and a vehicle in poor condition.

This much I will give them, some of the vans and vehicles they stop; I would have done the same, yet a majority of the time, its vehicles from rural areas, which can be distinguished by their number plates, and people on motorcycles.

They seem easy enough prey; the former not being familiar with traffic rules and regulations can easily be fooled. It seems all the check post ‘officers’ want is a little bit of cash so everyone can go home without any inconvenience.

Yes, this may be a rant one has heard from almost everyone living in the city, yet I am sure that it is also something everyone has personally witnessed or worse been through.

More to follow in Part 2

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=1668

Posted by Musa Afridi on Oct 27 2011. Filed under Opinion, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry