Govt dismissed SSP Muhammad Ali Nekokara, who refused to use force against Azadi March protesters
CHINIOT: The media and all political parties vocally condemned the Lahore Model Town incident. The PML-N also disowned it by declaring that this was a case of mismanagement by the police command. A similar incident, if not more intense, was averted in Islamabad owing to the sagacity of the then SSP Islamabad, Muhammad Ali Nekokara, during the PTI and PAT sit-ins. Ironically, instead of being rewarded for his action, he has been dismissed. His fault was his refusal to carry out orders he believed were unlawful as they could have resulted in the use of violence against innocent protestors.
As a concerned Pakistani, I would like to raise a few questions. First, do civil servants owe their loyalty to the state and the Constitution or to the political elite? Second, do the media and our political parties only able to condemn injustice after it has occurred? Lastly, will the police be able to function impartially if such a precedent of dismissing a police officer of good repute in this manner is set?
Ghulam Mustafa
Published in The Express Tribune, April 3rd, 2015.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
