Pakistan police organization from the colonial period to today

This thesis analyzes the current problems, origins, and development of the Pakistani police force through a historical theoretical perspective. Unlike a modern state institution, the study explores how the police, constructed by a colonial power as an instrument of oppression and control, retained its influence even after Pakistan's independence. In this context, the ideological foundations of the colonial police are revealed by examining the Irish police force as a prototype, a model distinct from civilian policing. The first part of the thesis examines the theoretical and historical foundations of modern policing. This section demonstrates how the police were institutionalized through different models in Europe (England and France) and how the Irish model, a colonial variant, was adapted to India with the Police Act of 1861. It emphasizes that this law transformed the force into an instrument of colonial authority by imbuing it with a militaristic, centralized structure. The second part of the thesis examines how the colonial legacy was inherited after Pakistan's independence in 1947. This section discusses the federal administrative structure of the state and why initial reform attempts failed, followed by an analysis of the legal and structural changes introduced by the 2002 Police Order. The third section of the thesis examines the current implications of problems stemming from the colonial legacy. This section examines the current status of the federal police, a direct continuation of the colonial structure, and federal police units with a more reformist approach. Ultimately, the thesis argues that the oppressive structure inherited from the colonial era underlies the current problems of the Pakistani police (politicization, corruption, and human rights violations), and that this institutional legacy must be fundamentally addressed for true reform. Keywords: Pakistan Police Force, Colonialism, Police Act of 1861, Police Order of 2002, Historical Institutionalism, Police Reforms