Screengrabs of raw footage showing Zamrud Khan (left) coming near Sikandar (left) and attempting to grab him. PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah termed Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Zamrud Khan’s attempt to grab the armed Sikandar Hayatt in Islamabad’s Blue Area as stupid, not heroic.
While Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Zamrud Khan’s attempt to grab and bring down the armed man who brought Islamabad to a stand still for hours has been commended and praised by many politicians and leaders, the act has been termed as unintelligent by Rana Sanaullah.
Sanaullah said that Khan had not informed security officials that he (Khan) was going near Hayatt, and he was lucky that Sikandar gave him a chance to escape.
Sanaullah also termed Thursday’s incident a failure of the Islamabad Police.
President Zardari had earlier praised Khan’s attempt to capture Hayatt, whilst Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif said that Khan had fulfilled his role as a responsible citizen.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain stated that no tribute could suffice for Khan’s heroism.
Local government minister Awais Muzaffar also termed Zamrud Khan as a national hero and Benazir Bhutto’s Jiyala.
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COMMENTS (74)
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Yea, like Rana Sanaullah knows anything about law enforcement and security after his "fine" stint as minister in Punjab for 5 years! If ZK hadn't made a move, the saga would still be going on! If wig-headed Ch. Nisar had given the police order to shoot Sikandar in the legs, this would have been over in 30 minutes. If the police doesn't have a single sniper that can shoot an armed man in the capital with precision in order to bring him down not kill, then there is something really wrong with Islamabad Police and this stupid gov't.
It was inaction on the part of adminstration that prompted ZK to intervene.Adminstration should shoulder the blame instead of pointing finger at ZK.
@a stupid: I remember Rashid Minhas and Maj. Aziz Bhatti were not politicians, Indeed were highly skilled personnel. This politician guy never showed bravery to stand up against all the wicked and evil deeds in the PPP regime.
the lunge put rugby to shame. he wasnt a jiyala running away once the gun went pop! dumb move. shouldve tripped him up or something..
Act of Mr. Zamarud Khan was of great bravery. We must salute him instead of passing insolent remarks. Unleass we chase terrorists when they are on run the situation will not improve. Terrorists and murders are coward and if chased even if they are armed will surrender. They should be chased by foot or any other means. For example see early days of Iranian revolution.
if that guy did not care about shooting his children,he cold have done it in any case...so i do not think it is right to say that Mr.Zamurd put the children's life in danger....
The role of security agencies was not objectionable in this episode. They were doing something by waiting. Jumping of ZK made their plans awkward. The media too was crossing its limits. The role of Nabil Gabol was sober and sensible.
Well-done ZK! Rana's comments is a stupid comment. he is unlawful ministry
Zamurrad put his own, Sikander's children's and ordinary public's life in danger. His act was total disregard of the rules to sort such a situation. Unfortunately there was complete lack of leadership from the police.
He is neither stupid,nor a hero. It can't be called bravery,but bravado.Only that his intention was good, but actions were wrong. He could have been killed,many other people could have been killed.Anyway a good lesson for citizens not to interfere in the work of law-enforcement, and for the law-enforcement to learn some basic techniques for handling people like him.
What Zamurd Khan did was heroic, brave and utterly stupid. We are lucky events turned out the way they did, no one was injured seriously except the mad man.
If Zamarud did a heroic act. Then what happened after he stood up after falling. Why was he running away from the Gun man??? Why is the so called Brave Superman tiger running away from the gunman after slipping??? And he also bumped in to a kid while running away. Just imagine what would have happened if Sikandars fired bullet had hit Zamarud of the kids instead of Sikandar wife's feet??
Rana Sahib is quite right. Zamurd should not have attacked the man.
Pathetic role played by media here . Some of these rating hungry anchors are despicable!
ZK needs to show his heroness in his political profession by good governance rather than a ssg commodo.
Agreed with Rana Sahib but Zamarud is not the only stupid. Police officials present at scene were stupid too who did not secure the area and allowed Zamarud to approach the crazy guy. Nisar Ch. was stupid too who did not allow police to act according to the situation. Media was stupid too who made us laughing stock in the entire world. Spectators were stupid too who did not care their own safety and above all biggest stupid are those who have demoralized our security forces.
Poor police training, lack of civilisation and common sense, decades of jahaliat... There is still time to correct things...
This was all planned.
I can't agree more with Rana Sb for making an extremely effective and realistic view about the stupidity of ZK. He spoiled the five hour effort to arrest the culprit with firing. Sikandar, once recovers should be prosecuted as per the law and be punished the maximum.
I fully endorse Rana Sahib. Zamrud Khan was wrong.
If Zamrud was not trained, than ISLAMABAD's Police was also not trained.. We must appreciate than intentionally or unintentionally Zamrud took the first step.. Otherwise our so called BAHADUR Police would have wasted so much time
Rana Sanaullah is right. Zamrud Khan took wrong step. When Police, Rangers and other law enforcement agencies were present there, Zamrud Khan should not have done so.
Very bad role played by media in the whole episode. Zamurd Khan did total stupidity. The firing done by Sikandar might create some loss but fortunately that did not happen. This stupidity of Zamurd Khan might result in loss of valuable human lives due to firing of Sikandar.
Rana Sanaullah said Zamrud Khan grabbing Sikandar was stupid, not heroic. Zamurrad should not be spared just after calling him stupid. He interfered in security strategy. Why should he break the police cordon? He should be tried for that. But Chaudhri Nisar will suspend the poor policemen.
It is not so far proved that Sikandar was a threat. Had Zamurrad not jumped, just waiting would had desired results. Police had to resort firing to save Zamarrud. Zamarrad had fallen and Sikandar could at least kick him or hit on his head. Sikandar did not like it.
Sikandar was a tex payer, educated person with his family. How conveniently they shot him? If he dies, he is murdered. I wish him recovery..
Nabil Gabol behaved very sensibly. He knew his limits..
@RANA SANAULLAH Had this been done by your LeJ, You would have written long poem of praise. Learn to appreciate others (un)Lawful minister. Indeed Zamrud Khans's act was heroic.
@hammad , dear you missed imran khan from the lists.
had Shehbaz Sharif done the same thing what would Rana Sanaullah's statement would be?
Had this man belonged to Taliban, Rana Sanaullah would have embraced him.
Someone else stole the show and exposed the good governance of the PMLN government. Rana's statement is totally out of jealousy and an acknowledgement of incompetency. 5 hours, come on.
It is stupidity, and so is endangering your life, in a battlefield on the orders of your commander, when you know its sure death.
@Chengez K: For your kind information Zamrud Khan is a Punjabi as well. He and my fateher were colleagues in PPPP of the Rawalpindi Chapter. He is a Potohari like me. So kindly avoid any ethnic talk here. His full name is Chaudary Zamrud Khan and just like many Potoharis like Amir Khan etc he write Khan with his name.
PMLN people who were sleeping yesterday have immediately waken up and bashing Zumarad Khan who at least did something and had the courage to do it. shame on PMLN's stupid face saving efforts. And, ET, how do you choose yor headlines exactly? was this something that could be made a headline?
Sorry for the typo in my comment. Should be Fools where angels fear to tread (not thread)
OH WOW....
What a nation, evil is evil but if someone tries to help others is also branded as stupid.
BTW what is Rana's contribution for the betterment of anyone???
Stupidity..
He can do better job of Federal Information Minister. PML N is wasting his talent by placing him in province!
It could have been a tactic used by Police but was most stupid act(should be done by some trained person), Gunman could have killed him or anyone else.
Not only was that an act of stupidity it was also an act of cowardice and hypocrisy. Pretend to shake hands with children and then attack the father. Shameful indeed.
Atleast he did what the police and commandos shud have done hours ago Sad to see our people take the wrong persons side.
usually PMLN usurps credit of others but this time it is opposite so how can they digest it.
I endorse Rana Sanaullah's statement
Rana Sanaullah has gone Mad.. I think everyone of us should be as brave as Zamurd Khan.. I salute him for his courage.
For once I do agree with Rana. Stupid move.
Now there is an email floating around our office showing picture of Zamrud giving money to Sikandar wife. And Sikandar being Bhathtawar's body guard? Any truth in it?
Rana Sanaullah is absolutely right. Who gave Zumarud Khan the mandate to take things into his own hands.
@Rafidi: I could not have agreed with you anymore. Thanks for telling it like it is. For Rana Sana being in the arms of terrorists is bravery not attacking them. Every act of bravery has some mindless courage associated with it. Lying down with bombs in front of thanks is also stupidity to some people who are arm chair warriors. Hiding and surrendering to the enemy is pretty clever act, isn’t it?
had he been injured or god forbid killed, all those praising him for bravery would have been blaming the police and govt for allowing this non-sense.
Zamrud khan should be behind the bar .....dis is not the job of Politician
Oh really Sanaullah just talking big doesn’t get you anything neither do those big mustache. Please stop being a contrarian in all your opinions learn to see and accept that other people are braver than you despite the fact that your party calls itself the party of the Shers. It was stupid and disgraceful on part of your party and its leaders and ministers to do nothing about this saga and it had to be fixed by a person who had the will to fight the wrong! Shame on you and your party
The Law Enforcement agencies could have shot this guy in the head easily, way before Zamrud tried to be a hero unnecessarily, without even thinking about the Wife and Kids. There was nothing wrong in waiting for a few more hours until the safety of the wife and kids was at least assured. Looking at the video closely, Sikandar cud have shot Zamrud after he escaped from his grip but he didn't. Had Zamrud not taken law into his own hands, the wife would have not been shot. The role of media was extremely unprofessional and disturbing. Looks like the media has no ethical or moral standards to work on.
To be fair, without proper training lunging in for a takedown with hands trying to grab a shoulder and missing while the other guy has 2 guns on you isn't actually rational. It was heroic indeed but not smart. Look at Mr.Insane's posture. He is leaning back with static legs. Someone who knew basic wrestling would have shot for a leg or both and put this lunatic on his back in a second. What it does tell however how incompetent our police training is! Basic hand to hand combat and MMA training should be provided to at least the elite force. A little technique at short distance and a trained officer could have taken the idiot down without an issue, or put him to sleep with basic striking training (a bare knuckle punch dazes anyone if you know how to throw). There are techniques who actually show how to lunge properly and incapacitate an armed guy being unarmed. Luckily, our lunatic had two big rifles instead of a hand gun. Had the idiot been trained or even held a smaller gun with lesser recoil in any of hands, he could have aimed well. It was a comedy of errors on all fronts. Fortunately with assault rifles without proper support from other hand and a bent elbow it’s impossible to aim because of recoiling force in absence of balancing stance and posture, unless of course you are Rambo in a movie. It is basic physics. Elite forces should have one year of training focused on close quartered combat including use of firearms for this specific purpose as well as basic striking, wrestling (grappling) techniques. The loon did let a number of people close to him and I kept shouting ‘double or single leg takedown’ on my screen every time he did. One year basic training can teach people to fight and defend these situations much more effectively. Oh btw, would it kill to include some weight training in our police academy?
Anyone following newspapers knows very well how stupid this (un)Law minister is. I do not understand the merits of ET to chose this statement as headline.
Rana probably wanted to see someone killed. What a cheap comment of Rana. Zamarud Khan's bravery deserve a national recognition.
Rana has a tarnished past and he is my least fav polition to say the least. But, that doesn't make his statement any less true.
Zamurd showed the shahid afridi mentality and the people who color him heroic belong to same myopic clan.
This stupidity does brave people... Rashid Minhas ... Major Aziz Bhatti ... and list goes on...
Zamarud Khan should be taken to task for interfering in police work. He not only failed to catch the armed person but also put the lives of others in danger.
i agree with him. Zamrud Khan attempt to grab the armed Sikandar was not only stupid, it was the most worst & the most stupid act. He fired on him two times. Anything could happen at these moments.
It's true.
ZK made a huge faux pas by getting invloved .
This was a case of a mentally unhinged person , not a terrorist . And the Islamabad Police were given intrusions to negotiate and tire him down.
You would imagine that after a decade of terrorism, Pakistan's security agencies would have SOPs for all kinds of incidents. Yesterday it became apparent they do not, in fact they had no clue how to handle the situation. Zamarrud Khan's lunge was in-line with the 5 hour fiasco.It was the result of idiotic bravado.... he should have been arrested for endangering lives and intervening in Police business.
USAma bin Ladim MOllah Umar Mukhtara Mai Mallaaa Sikandar Hayatt
enough is enough ,,
When was the last time a PPP member did not do something stupid, does any one remember it?
it was an act of stupidity.
Fools venture where angels fear to thread.
This applies equally to Nabil Gabool and Zamrud Khan who got inspiration from Nabl Gabol and wanted to outdo him. Not just this there were lots of spectators who were watching the action, some even sitting on the pavement so close to the scene. All this shows that there is no value for life, be it of others or your own but everyone pretends that they care for the lives of innocent children and his innocent wife and also this innocent insane man. I have repeated "innocent" intentionally because this is what the foolish public and media are so fond of calling. Yes, the children are innocent but mentioning "Innocent" every time you refer to the children surely shows that those who say it do not really mean it and just want to show to others that they care.
Shooting Sikandar was one thing the Police were avoiding and Kudos to the officer who started the negotiations but then came ZAMRUD KHAN with his supermanly skills which failed badly and the police were left with no other choice but to shoot, even though Sikandar had a lot of time to fire randomly and harm the superhero along with many spectators but he didn't, which clearly showed that he was not their to kill anyone but to make an impression.
Zamrad Khan indeed did a herioc act but it was at the epitome of stupidity by endangering his own life as well as those of all people who were surrounding the scene...
partially agree
Actually he has a point. Sikander's shot merely missed the child no doubt it was idiotic. Perhaps police were waiting for gunmen to tire a bit.
We need a hero now but imagine that happening in some civilized country, Zamrud would have been arrested by Police for interrupting their work! Not only he risked his life but also Police had to open fire which they were rightly avoiding.
Regardless of the shortcomings in Rana Sanaullah as people have pointed out above, he's right on the money! There's a protocol to be followed and it was being followed strictly by the rangers and police. Just consider how much damage Zamurd Khan's "heroic" act would've done if any of the kids or by standers would've been shot/hurt! Parliamentarians need to show their heroic acts in the parliament and not on the streets where it's the police's and rangers' duty.
yes, it was a stupid act, if you want to grab than why not send some commando for this purpose ?
I am with Rana sanaullah... This is definetly an insane act done by PPP minister. Another thing I was wondering that in this world many dangerous animals are sedated through shooting. This guy could be easily controlled after shooting through such harmless method.. Our police should learn something from national geographic or discovery channel experts
For once i agree with Rana sahib. An utterly stupid act from ZK for risking children's lives. Moreover an utterly stupid behavior from the "free" and "responsible" media for promoting and endorsing it as an heroic act...
Looks like I may have to agree with Rana Sb for the first time in my life. Not only did Mr. Khan put his own life in danger, he also put the children's lives in danger along with the law enforcement and media people around the drama scene.
That is rich coming from Rana Sanaulllah who has done absolutely nothing about the law and order in Punjab and is more interested in cosying up to LEJ, LET and the Taliban in Punjab and letting them massacre minorities without any fear of retaliation from law enforcement agencies.