Islamabad-Aisha* and Rehan*, two 24-year-old students of a medical school in Islamabad, were recently stopped by two policemen in H-8 neighbourhood. Both were perplexed as there was no traffic violation, they did not jump a red signal or drove rashly.

To their utter shock, the policemen asked them why they were driving slowly on a rather deserted road.

Soon, the questions turned towards a more personal nature. They were asked about the nature of their relationship.

Once the couple divulged that they were just friends, the policemen threatened to call their parents after accusing the couple of indulging in “immoral activities”.

While one police official talked with Rehan, the other kept eyeing Aisha in a lecherous manner. The couple was nervous and did not want their parents to get involved. The policemen offered an easy way out - give some money and get permission to leave. Rehan took out Rs2,000 from his wallet and handed over to one official. The policemen hugged him and left.

Several other couples have reported being harassed by the police, mostly by two officials riding a motorbike. Couples are being harassed in F-6 and I-8 neighbourhoods.

In another recent ironic incident, two cops intercepted a car after sunset upon seeing a boy and a girl driving alone in F-8.

The boy was asked to step out of the car and questioned about his relationship with the girl and why they were alone in the car.

However, to the policeman’s embarrassment, it turned out that the boy and girl were, in fact, siblings. The policemen let them go but offered no apology. In some cases, where couples have refused to bribe corrupt officials, they have been threatened to be charged with section 294 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) which reads: “Obscene acts and songs: Whoever, to the annoyance of others, a) does any obscene act in any public place, or (b) sings, recites or utters any obscene songs, ballad or words, in or near any public place, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine, or with both.”

When asked about how police extortion works, Abdullah*, a 22-year-old student, said that there are two policemen patrolling places on their bikes such as parks, dark parking areas, and empty roads.

“If they catch you doing something wrong or even just simply sitting in a car alone, they stop and search you, question you about your relationship, after which they take your identity cards and demand your parent’s number. Once they are sure they have caught you red handed or find out that you are scared that your parents might find out. They exploit that fear and take a look at how much money you got. Then one plays good cop, and the other plays bad cop. Gradually they move on to the settlement ‘fee,’ depending on how much they found in your wallet,” he said.

Hania*, a marketing manager at a public telecom office, was sitting with a colleague, discussing a new campaign during their office break at the Haunted Hill, a park in F-7, recently. Suddenly, two policemen approached them and started questioning them in the middle of the day regarding who they were and why there were sitting so close to one another. After a lengthy discussion, the police agreed to let them go after they paid them some money for “chai paani.”

Hania and her colleague did not have cash. But the policemen were very determined. They followed Hania and her colleague all the way to the ATM and allowed them to go only after they received approximately Rs3,000.

Kainat*, a resident of federal capital, said that police must stop the harassment. “They are themselves corrupt, harassing and extorting bribes from young couples,” she said.

“Anything that is not expressly prohibited is not illegal and, as per PPC, there is no law that explicitly forbids a man and a woman to sit or travel in a vehicle alone,” said Ahmad Waqqas*, a lawyer based in Islamabad. “The police is illegally harassing and blackmailing people, taking advantage of their uniform, to make some extra cash,” he said.

 –The writer is a freelance contributor

*Names have been changed to protect identity