THE EMERGENCE OF THE RULE OF LAW AND POLICING IN PAKISTAN A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

The law enforcement mechanisms including policing in Pakistan in particular is perceived to be the most corrupt and ineffective system that has itself created conditions for the breakdown of law and order situation in the country. This trampling of law and order situation is, nonetheless backed by a multiplicity of factors ranging from historical internal transitions within the system per se to a panoply of overwhelming external socio-political and culturally backed drivers such as the incompatibility between policy recommendations and practical implementation. The current study was, however, delimited to initiate a historical content analysis of the evolution of police and policing in Pakistan from the colonial era to the current police system. The available literature has been analyzed in its utmost with a particular focus on police reforms in Pakistan across its history. The paper concludes that since independence, multiple reforms and changes had been proposed for the effectiveness of police system in the country, no or less attention has however, been given to the implementation of such policies and reforms.