Timely action

The Chief of the Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa has ensured what was needed to be done for upholding the institutional integrity of the police force in the wake of what is referred to as Karachi incident — an event in the wee hours of October 19 that led to the police high command being forced to register a case against PML-N leader Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar for “violating the sanctity of Mazar-e-Quaid” and then arrest him from his hotel room in Karachi in the presence of his wife, Maryam Nawaz.

According to an ISPR statement issued on Tuesday, officials of the ISI and Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, involved in the ‘Karachi incident’ have been removed pending further departmental proceedings for acting ‘overzealously’ following the desecration of Mazar-e-Quaid. The decision for their removal, says the ISPR statement, has been taken on the basis of recommendations made by the Court of Inquiry — a tribunal appointed to investigate a matter and decide whether a court martial is warranted.

The ‘Karachi incident’ had left the Sindh police force ‘demoralised and shocked’ and led to the police chief in the province, Mushtaq Mahar, and dozens of his subordinate officers down to the level of SHO applying for a 60-day leave en masse. However, with the Army Chief intervening in the matter and assuring action against those responsible for the unfortunate episode, the police officers deferred their leave applications for 10 days ‘in the larger national interest’. This timely intervention averted what could have snowballed into a serious security crisis in the province.

Police is our first line of defence. Sindh police, in particular, has rendered great sacrifices in the war on terror and played a pivotal role in the success of the Karachi Operation against criminals — which was launched in 2013 — in conjunction with the paramilitary Rangers. The recommendations made by the Court of Inquiry must have served to restore the dignity of the police and lift their morale, besides proving that there could be no compromise on the rule of law as well as the independence and autonomy of state institutions.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2020.

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