There has been talk of raising a new Counter Terrorism Force for combating the rising level of organized crime, terrorism and lawlessness in Pakistan. Let us have a look at a previous experiment.
The Federal Security Force (FSF) was disbanded by the Martial Law Authorities soon after the 1977 coup. It was construed as a parallel body to the Army raised by Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for his own ends. It is interesting to study the rationale for raising of the FSF. Soon after his take over as the first civilian martial law administrator Mr. Bhutto was confronted by Police mutinies in NWFP and Punjab. The Army under Lt Gen Gul Hassan refused to be deployed to quell the mutiny which was also the main reason for his removal as C in C. In such circumstances Mr. Bhutto felt the need for having a specially trained police force directly responsible to him through the Ministry of Interior for any internal security needs, perhaps also to intimidate his critics. The FSF was accused of gross human rights violation including the murder of Nawab Muhammad Khan Kasuri for which Mr. Bhutto along with 4 persons from the FSF was hanged.
The Army’s deployment in Balochistan from 1973 onwards further gave impetus and a number of FSF battalion were raised bringing the total strength to approx. 15000 persons by the time it was disbanded in 1977. The requirement for counter insurgency force has been increasing due to worsening law and order situation since the seventies. This role has been assigned to the Civil Armed Forces (CAFs), the Pakistan Rangers and the Frontier Corps (Scouts) since disbandment of the FSF. The CAF’s mission is to guard the frontiers of the country in peace time and act as the first line of defense in war followed by anti-smuggling duties in the border belt. They are led by regular Pak Army officers on deputation who come for tenures of 2 to 3 years. It is very rare that an officer comes for a second tenure with the result that this force lacks deep rooted espirit de corps leadership and loyalty amongst its officers, rank and file.
The Rangers have been employed on almost permanent basis in Sindh followed by their employment in Okara and Rajanpur areas in Punjab. It started with the raising of Bhittai, Sachel and Qasim Rangers purely for IS requirements in Sindh in early nineties, ever since then their deployment has increased in all provinces. Similarly the FC has been deeply employed in Balochistan and FATA followed by KPK. Raising of Dir and Swat Scouts etc. indicate a long term contemplated role for this force in KPK in future. The CAFs are performing law & order functions on extended basis in all the provinces for over a decade now. It is time now that the CAFs are withdrawn from their employment on IS role in the interior of the country however if required for any insurgency they can continue to perform these duties in the bordering districts and FATA, here too their deployment should be for a limited period only.
It should be very clear that both these roles are not compatible with each other e.g. a Director General can either look after the law and order in Karachi and other urban centres of Sindh or carry out surveillance of the borders, both full time requirements. The necessity to have a para-military force looking after law and order beyond the capacity of normal Police services is apparent. Therefore the need to re–raise the FSF for counter insurgency and combating organized crime.
Unlike the Police officers who are trained in public dealing right from the beginning and have to do it on daily basis, the Army officers have stayed away from such roles. The continuous public dealing due to involvement of CAFs in law and order matters has resulted in their officers, including the Director Generals being dragged into courts where they had to face very unpleasant situations, searching and embarrassing questions and they had to cut a sorry figure. The continuous dependence on CAFs by the Federal and Provincial Governments has in fact harmed the development of Provincial Police Services, rather than strengthening the Police Services or Elite Police. Properly led the Elite Police Force trained by the SSG is capable of performing any task required of them equally well no less than the FC or Rangers.
In India the Central Reserve Police Force (CPRF) is very aptly fulfilling this role and has performed very well in the counter insurgency role particularly against the Naxalites in Eastern parts of India. It has a strength of over 250,000 armed personnel including 2 women battalions and are equipped with machine guns and mortars, etc. The counter insurgency operations against the Maoists are basically being spear headed by the CPRF. Similarly many other countries i.e. France, Turkey, Italy, Argentina etc. have depended on the Gendarmerie for para-military duties.
It is felt that re-raising of FSF will take the main burden of law and order and counter insurgency away from the CAFs. The CAFs should remain focused on their primary role of frontier guarding and anti-smuggling duties. Their prolonged deployment away from their main role has adversely affected their operational efficiency. The re-raising of FSF should be a relatively simple matter as the administrative framework i.e. FSF Act already exists. The Pakistan Army can assist by transferring officers, JCOs/NCOs and soldiers of fighting arms in any required numbers. However it should remain within the ambit of ‘The Polices Services of Pakistan’ and function under the Inspector General of Police when called upon in any province.
