From the motorway to Bahria Town Lahore, there are usually three police checkpoints (nakaaz) at night. Officers stop every car, search it thoroughly, and make efforts to extort money from passengers. The first question they ask at all three checkpoints is, “Where are you coming from and where are you going?” The second is, “Why?” Passengers are not crossing any borders, nor are they near any sensitive installations that warrant such questioning. Even in DHA or Cantonment areas, the police and army simply check ID cards and search the vehicle’s trunk, only conducting thorough searches if necessary. However, on Canal Road, the police ask unnecessary and intrusive questions.
The concerned authorities should investigate this issue and examine why the police on Canal Road behave so differently from those at joint checkpoints with military or paramilitary forces.
SULEMAN MANSHA,
Lahore.