Preliminary report: Police mishandled Jhelum riots

PM Nawaz briefed about allegedly blasphemous incident

ISLAMABAD: The police are responsible for the Jhelum tragedy as the high-ups failed to address the religious sentiments of a mob which not only led to displacement of some 1,200 Ahmadiyya community members but also caused them huge business losses, according to a preliminary report said presented to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday.

The report  was prepared by various stakeholders including the Punjab Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, law enforcement agencies and security intelligence agencies.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also observed the report. The two leaders directed the concerned authorities to carry out actions against all the culprits regardless of their affiliations.

On Friday, a mob torched the Pakistan Chipboard Factory on the Grand Trunk Road, alleging that an employee inside had desecrated the Holy Quran. By Saturday, the situation had become so volatile that the army was deployed to help the civil administration maintain law and order in the northern district of Punjab.

According to the report shared by sources with The Express Tribune, DPO Jhelum, RPO Rawalpindi and DSP and Chowki In-charge Kala Gujjran are responsible for the whole scenario who failed to tackle the mob.

The report said that only one colonel of Pakistan Army has restored the law and order in the city which was not controlled by additional IGP, DPO, around 10 SPs, DSPs and hundreds of reserved police personnel.

The security in-charge of the factory and a local cleric are equally responsible for inciting and provoking the issue which plunged the city into chaos, it added.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th,  2015.