Challenges and Areas for Improvement in the Virtual Policing System: A Research Study in the Light of Islamic Teachings

ورچوئل پولیس نظام کی خامیاں اور بہتری کی تجاویز:اسلامی تعلیمات کی روشنی میں ایک تحقیقی مطالعہ

Abstract

This paper presents a critical study of the virtual (digital) police system currently operating in Pakistan and evaluates its shortcomings in the light of the Islamic teachings of justice, before proposing practical measures for its improvement. In recent years, several provinces of Pakistan have introduced initiatives such as online FIR registration, virtual women police stations, centralized complaint-management systems, and smart police facilitation centres, all aimed at providing citizens with access to police services without having to visit a police station. However, this system is accompanied by a number of serious problems, including the digital divide, illiteracy, concerns over privacy and data protection, false complaints, the absence of human contact, difficulties in ensuring accountability, gender and cultural barriers, technical failures, and weak inter-departmental integration. The study analyses these weaknesses in the light of the Qur'anic and Prophetic principles of justice (ʿadl), trust (amānah), verification (tabayyun), privacy (satr), and accountability (muḥāsabah), and draws upon the Islamic institution of ḥisbah as a historical precedent. In conclusion, it offers reform-oriented recommendations so that the system may satisfy not only the demand for convenience but also the requirements of justice, integrity, and the dignity of citizens.