The interior secretary, Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau were told to submit their reports on Abbas Town. PHOTO: Express/Mohammad Noman.
KARACHI:
Twenty months after an unarmed youth’s murder cost Sindh’s top cop his post, he has once again been sent packing.
This time the charge is more serious – criminal negligence in protecting 50 people who were killed in Sunday’s bomb blast in Karachi’s Abbas Town.
As the Supreme Court started hearing the suo motu case, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah ‘surrendered’ Inspector General Fayyaz Leghari and Deputy Inspector General Aleem Jafri to the federal government in an apparent attempt to protect them from the wrath of the judges.
“The police and Rangers are equally responsible for the criminal negligence,” the bench observed. “We will not let the officers protect their [jobs] over the lives of the innocent people.”
At the outset, the IG submitted his report through his lawyer Shah Khawar. But the judges felt it was less a report and more a confession, accepting his failure.
Leghari was asked to take a seat and the bench turned instead to Advocate General Abdul Fattah Malik to ask what the Sindh government had done to tackle officers responsible for negligence. The Sindh government’s lawyer Anwar Mansoor Khan asked till Thursday.
“People are dying and there is nobody to ask,” remarked Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. “This is the extent of the indifference that nobody feels it is their responsibility, including the IG.”
Officers, including the Malir DSP, the Sohrab Goth DSP and SHO for Sachal, claimed that they had immediately reached the site. Dismissing this, Justice Chaudhry asked if the government had suspended the officers, including Leghari, who was earlier removed. The government had transferred him to the FIA. An FIR was lodged against him. The chief justice asked how many people had been killed after Leghari had resumed charge as police chief.
AG Malik conceded that the police and Rangers had failed to do their constitutional duty. Sindh government’s lawyer Anwar Mansoor Khan admitted negligence on the part of the law enforcers. “Don’t call it mere negligence. This is criminal negligence,” the judges added.
The judges noted that the Rangers were equally responsible and summoned Director General Major General Rizwan Akhtar. The Rangers have been deployed in Sindh from 1995 and since August 25, 2011 had powers to make arrests.
Akhtar said that 11,000 of their troops were deployed in Karachi. But the judges noted that despite their presence and the fact that the paramilitary force had its own intelligence-gathering system, people were still dying. Akhtar admitted that they had no particular information about Abbas Town.
To a question, he stated that the troops deployed near the site could not reach to help because a protest had broken out. He said that no action was needed to be taken against his officers as they had performed well in the past.
The bench ordered the chief secretary to suspend the SSP, DSP and SHO by Wednesday. He was ordered to look into the case of Additional IG Shabbir Shaikh, who was acting police chief at the time.
The interior secretary, Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau were told submit their reports on Abbas Town, particularly pointing out whether any warnings given to the police and Rangers.
The hearing continues March 8.
By design, Sindh Additional IG Rafique Hassan Butt will take over as the police chief until the federal government appoints a new IGP Sindh.
Late night development
The Sindh government issued a notification placing the services of Sindh IG Fayaz Leghari and DIG East Aleem Jaffri at the disposal of the federal government, while SSP Malir Rao Anwer, DSP Sohrab Goth Qamar Ahmed and SHO Sachal police station Azhar Iqbal were suspended and ordered to report to the police head office.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2013.
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The verdicts of Supreme Court has lost its value. I will equate it to the Statements of Shirjeel Memon. Pakistan is becoming increasingly ungovernable. Quoting the articles of constitution is good enough for the Lawyers community, but in real sence it is just 123 or abc without any sence.