MANY citizens, including myself, have experienced difficulties in registering first information report (FIR) with the police, and filing complaints with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The official behaviour often makes one feel like a foreigner in one`s own country.

A friend of mine recently lost his mobile phone while travelling from the Peshawar University to Saddar using the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service. When he tried to lodge an FIR with the Saddar Police Station, the officials on duty refused, claiming it was not their jurisdiction, and he was directedto have it registered with the Town Police Station. However, officials at the Town Police Station also refused to register the FIR on the same grounds.

Instead of helping the people, which is their primary duty, police officials act indifferently. Consequently, the FIR was never registered, and my friend returned home without any assistance. The behaviour of FIA officials is not much different. To register a complaint with the FIA, one often needs special`connections`. Otherwise, one should be prepared to get turned away right at the gate.

When it comes to the cases of political victimisation, these very police and FIA officials move with great alacrity. This makes one question the motive behind such actions. It seems they are more focussed on servingtheinterests ofthe sitting government through politically motivated cases rather than performing their primary duty of serving the people.

Nagib Ullah Peshawar