#JusticeForAmir: Police Torture In KP Raises Questions Over PTI’s Reforms

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Natasha Nadeem
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#JusticeForAmir

A graphic video of police torture is doing rounds on social media. As per initial reports a young man named, Amir, while in police custody was stripped and subjected to extreme abuse while being recorded by police officials.

As per social media sources Amir’s crime was that he had abused police officers in a private gathering. The incident had been filmed and had later gone viral on social media causing embarrassment for the officials.

Out-pour of rage took over Pakistani Twitter after various clips of Amir being tortured in police custody went viral. The hashtag, #JusticeforAmir has ever since become the country’s top trend on the micro-blogging website.

Police torture under KP Police Act of 2017 holds a punishment of 5 years.

The KP police has issued a statement noting that Inspector General of Police Sanaullah Abbasi has taken notice of the incident and those involved in the heinous act have been suspended and placed under detention.

This was followed by a strong statement by SSP operations Zahoor Baber.

However, many remain skeptical of police claims to serve justice given that Pakistan has seen cases in the recent past where police torture went wholly unpunished.

The most recent case in point would be that of Salahuddin, the ATM thief who had lost his life as a result of torture in police custody. While Salahuddin’s case had also attracted national outrage, his family had in the end been convinced to settle the case outside the court.

Amir’s torture by police officials also poses a huge question mark on Prime Minister Imran Khan and PTI’s claims of “exemplary police reforms” across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Upon coming to power in 2018, Imran Khan had spoken proudly about police reforms introduced by PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He had also pledged to introduce similar reforms in Punjab – a province whose police often makes headlines for all the wrong reasons.

However, this incident is a rather embarrassing reminder for the ruling party that all is not well with the police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – a province PTI has ruled for 7 straight years now.

Have something to add about the trending hashtag, #JusticeForAmir? Share your views in the comments below.

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