Khairpur cop to be transferred after MPA row

Manzoor Wassan had reacted angrily after dacoit Rafique Wassan was arrested.

HYDERABAD: The row between Khairpur's Wassan family, affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the district police seems to have calmed down for now. However, sources told The Express Tribune that SP Maqsood Bangash, who was at the centre of the trouble, will be transferred from Khairpur when the dust settles.

This is despite both the parties reportedly coming to an agreement during a meeting at Wassan House, Karachi, on Tuesday when Sindh IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali, Khairpur SSP Nasir Aftab Pathan and Bangash paid a visit to provincial prisons minister Manzoor Wassan and MNA Nawab Wassan.



"[PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali] Zardari asked Jamali to take the SSP and the SP there  to resolve the matter," a source informed The Express Tribune.

Pathan and Bangash are credited with drastically reducing crime in Khairpur within the span of only a few months.

A week ago, however, the policemen shot and injured dacoit Rafique Wassan in an encounter before arresting him. Manzoor and Nawab reacted furiously, demanding an inquiry against Bangash and his removal from the district. Transfer orders were issued for the SP but were later cancelled.

The standoff immediately went public, with the cops receiving an outpouring of support from the residents while Manzoor took the matter to the PPP leaders and the Sindh Assembly. "The Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) is conspiring against us with the police," Manzoor said in the assembly. "Although Naro taluka has remained peaceful, PPP workers are subjected to police excesses and torture.”

PML-F MPA Nusrat Sehar Abbasi refuted this, accusing him of harbouring criminals and exerting influence on the police to prevent action.

Police reaction

The Sindh chief minister directed Hyderabad DIG Dr Sanaullah Abbasi to conduct an inquiry into the incident but the dispute was resolved before the inquiry was completed. The DIG confirmed that his office received a letter from the IG on Wednesday to cancel the inquiry.

"It would have been better if the DIG was allowed to complete the inquiry, which could have revealed that Rafique was no ordinary citizen but a criminal nominated in several cases," said an official seeking anonymity.

The episode has also negatively affected the morale of the district police, who feel that this exertion of political influence is tantamount to clipping their wings. "One of the reasons why crimes don't decrease is that political influence prevents honest officers from taking action," explained another official. "Influential people always make sure we know that we can be kicked out if we don't obey them."

Manzoor told The Express Tribune that this was not a serious matter. "The media has given unnecessary publicity by calling it a dispute," he said. "Such petty issues occur everywhere and are resolved amicably."

Sources said that Bangash is very close to Khairpur’s Jilani family and the CM himself recommended him to his hometown.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2015.