Disgraceful governance

There is something unedifying about the removal of a decent senior police officer for no other reason than he was inconveniently honest. Whatever credibility as a party ‘of the people’ that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) still had was shredded by the departure of the IG of Sindh police, AD Khawaja, who has been sent on forced leave. His departure is down to internal power struggles within the PPP and exposes the weakness of the hold that both Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Murad Ali Shah have over key decision-making. One is Co-Chairman of the PPP, the other its appointed CM of Sindh. Both were sidelined when it became the wish of another senior PPP leader who out-muscled them and demanded the rustication of Mr Khawaja. He had his way, despite Mr Bilawal and Mr Shah being more than satisfied with the work of the police chief.

Any unseating such as this should have been referred to the Federal Government but the PPP nabobs were having none of that and Mr Khawaja got his marching orders. All this was denied by PPP leader Senator Saeed Ghani who maintained that Mr Khawaja was subject to no pressure whatsoever and was a routine reshuffle. Widespread incredulity followed.

Depoliticising the police nationally is a major challenge, and the challenges presented by policing Sindh and Karachi in particular are like no other in the country. The problem with Mr Khawaja was that he was honest. He made appointments on merit. Resisted pressure from political quarters. And as we all know having an honest policeman is just what his political masters do not want. Mr Khawaja had done the unthinkable and introduced a transparent process of recruitment that precluded political interference. Shock-horror in the political ranks and plans to remove him were quickly in train. They worked. We deplore this travesty of governance. If this is what the PPP has in store for the country were they ever returned to power then woe-betide everybody.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2016.

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