Naya Pakistan, purana VIP culture: FIR registered against citizens for impeding president’s protocol

SC has allowed two-minute halt of traffic, says traffic police official

KARACHI: Sindh Police on Sunday registered separate FIRs against citizens for creating obstacles in the protocol of President Dr Arif Alvi in Karachi. The move comes amid stark criticism against the president’s security detail, which caused a blockade of traffic on Sharae Faisal last week too.

The president seemed to join in the criticism too, rubbishing the idea of booking citizens for raising a voice for their rights. On Sunday, President Dr Arif Alvi took to Twitter, where he said, “An FIR against the person protesting security is ridiculous. When people are inconvenienced, they do react.”

In the latest incident, a video surfaced on social media on Saturday night, showing a citizen inciting fellow commuters to break through the blockade that had been set up on Sharae Faisal for the president’s protocol. The unidentified person filming the incident can be heard urging commuters to drive through the blockade and also arguing with the traffic police personnel stationed at the site.

Subsequently, an FIR number 488/2018 was registered against the ‘unknown’ person for obstructing the president’s protocol.  The case was registered by the Traffic Section’s SO sub-inspector Muhammad Saleem under Section 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code - obstructing public servant from discharging public functions - and Section 353 - use of criminal force to stop a public servant from performing his duty. Both offences are bailable.

SO Saleem told The Express Tribune that at around 9pm on Saturday night, the movement of traffic near the Karsaz flyover on Sharae Faisal had been temporarily halted to allow the protocol of the President to pass through unimpeded. During this time, a man wearing a pant and shirt came forward and tried to incite the people to break through the blockade. The SO maintained that when the movement of traffic was halted, there were very few vehicles being held up and as the president’s entourage passed, the traffic was allowed to go through.  He added that the unidentified person pushed the traffic police personnel and also used expletives against the nation.

SO Saleem also alleged that any miscreant could have taken advantage of the situation and succeeded in their nefarious designs. “What image would that leave of us?” he questioned. The officer recalled that the Supreme Court had granted permission to halt traffic for up to two minutes for VIP movements and that the traffic police blocked vehicular movement keeping these orders in mind so that the citizens are not too inconvenienced and the VIP’s protocol may move freely too.

In the case of Saturday’s incident, SO Saleem said that the protesting citizen had not been identified yet, but a video had been uploaded on the internet through which they would be able to identify and apprehend the suspect.

Meanwhile, another case, number 244/2018, relating to the attempted obstruction in the convoy of the president on September 16 near the Nursery bus stop on Share Faisal, was registered at the Tipu Sultan Police Station on Saturday. The case was registered by the Ferozabad Traffic Police SO Muhammad Ashraf Jutt against unidentified persons affiliated with civil rights group - FixIt. The same sections have been included in the second FIR.

The founder of FixIt, Alamgir Khan, who is also the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s candidate for the NA-243 by-elections, vowed on Sunday to continue his struggle against VIP culture. He lambasted the move to register cases against the protesters, but added that none of the protesters were affiliated with his organisation.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2018.