Forced to leave but not leaving the force
These controversial police officers still manage to retain control despite having been dismissed or suspended
PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI:
The Sindh Police doesn’t care much for rules and regulations. Its personnel have pledged to sacrifice their lives for the country, whether they officially hold office or not.
This is the response one gets when the department is questioned regarding the services of those police personnel who have been suspended, dismissed or terminated from active duty.
An internal inquiry conducted by the Sindh police department had identified more than 50 SHOs involved in cases of crime. The report prepared by the then DIG of the Sindh Police’s Rapid Response Force (RRF), Dr Aftab Ahmed Pathan, declared the 55 police station chiefs unfit for the posts because of their patchy service records.
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The SHOs were punished with suspension or dismissal from service on court orders. Most of them have, however, managed to retain control over the police stations where they were posted prior to the punishments.
“New SHOs have been appointed in these police stations but these former SHOs have retained control over the affairs,” said a police official privy to the matter. “You may call them [the newly appointed SHOs] dummies, as the former SHOs are still calling the shots.”
Many prominent officers are included in the list — the foremost being former District Malir SSP Rao Anwar and the SHOs on his team, Amanullah Marwat, Fasiuz Zaman, Ismail Lashari, Azhar Iqbal, Haroon Korai, Khan Nawaz and Shoaib Shaikh. Among them, Ismail Lashari is one officer who has been suspended or dismissed from service on at least 16 occasions but somehow manages to find a place in the police force each time.
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SSP Anwar alone has been accused of killing nearly two dozen suspects in various encounters and is seen leading police operations and handling the district’s policing affairs even after he was suspended around five months ago in April, following a controversial press conference in which he claimed to have arrested two workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) with links to the Indian intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
When The Express Tribune contacted SSP Anwar, his remarks contradicted the department’s version fed to the media earlier. “I was not suspended, even for a minute,” he said categorically. “What I do is not for my personal benefit; it is for my country and people. Those who talk will keep talking. I will keep doing what I do,” said the SSP in his defence.
“These officers are allowed to continue to work for the police force as they have a good hold in their respective areas,” said a senior police officer in their defence. “It is common practice in the police department to give a chance to such officers to come back in the force.”
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Citing the example of former Quaidabad SHO Amanullah Marwat, who was among the suspended SHOs, the officer said that Marwat had built a good rapport in the area as he had played a vital role in the elimination of militancy during his posting. “Quaidabad had become a stronghold of militants but he [Marwat], during his tenure as SHO, curbed it effectively,” said a police official, defending the former SHO. “If he stops working, the threat will be exacerbated again. We do not have anyone to replace Marwat here.”
Likewise, a former chief of Sacchal police station, Shoaib Shaikh alias Shooter, survived an onslaught on his team when they raided the hideout of a hardcore terrorist affiliated with a banned outfit. The suspect later blew himself up in alFalah area of District Malir, last month.
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SHO Shaikh was earlier dismissed from service for conducting fake encounters a number of times. The most recent controversy that got him suspended was the alleged extrajudicial killing of Pakhtun Student Federation leader Shah Kalam Mehsud on Super Highway in February 2014 when he was posted as Sohrab Goth SHO.
“I am a true lover of Pakistan. I have been dismissed but I am still working for the sake of my country,” SHO Shaikh told The Express Tribune. “If I robbed a house, you may punish me and label me a dirty man but I did no such thing, then why was I punished.”
Narrating the story of the encounter, he said he was shot in the abdomen and was treated in the Combined Military Hospital. The former SHO said that the raid was conducted on his information. Not just the encounter, Shoaib has arrested a number of militants of the same group. “I have arrested a number of militants of the same group in the last one-and-a-half months despite being dismissed from service,” he explained.
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The former SHO added that the only person who had appreciated his efforts was the army chief who had awarded him Rs200,000. The court objected, however, and an inquiry was initiated against him.
Another officer with a similar story is Napier SHO Azam Khan, who was recently wounded in an encounter with gangsters in Lyari, despite being suspended at the time. SHO Khan was shot thrice in the abdomen and shoulder.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 19th, 2015.
The Sindh Police doesn’t care much for rules and regulations. Its personnel have pledged to sacrifice their lives for the country, whether they officially hold office or not.
This is the response one gets when the department is questioned regarding the services of those police personnel who have been suspended, dismissed or terminated from active duty.
An internal inquiry conducted by the Sindh police department had identified more than 50 SHOs involved in cases of crime. The report prepared by the then DIG of the Sindh Police’s Rapid Response Force (RRF), Dr Aftab Ahmed Pathan, declared the 55 police station chiefs unfit for the posts because of their patchy service records.
Sindh Police to establish ‘Witness Protection Unit’
The SHOs were punished with suspension or dismissal from service on court orders. Most of them have, however, managed to retain control over the police stations where they were posted prior to the punishments.
“New SHOs have been appointed in these police stations but these former SHOs have retained control over the affairs,” said a police official privy to the matter. “You may call them [the newly appointed SHOs] dummies, as the former SHOs are still calling the shots.”
Many prominent officers are included in the list — the foremost being former District Malir SSP Rao Anwar and the SHOs on his team, Amanullah Marwat, Fasiuz Zaman, Ismail Lashari, Azhar Iqbal, Haroon Korai, Khan Nawaz and Shoaib Shaikh. Among them, Ismail Lashari is one officer who has been suspended or dismissed from service on at least 16 occasions but somehow manages to find a place in the police force each time.
Read: Lax security? Target killer escapes from police station
SSP Anwar alone has been accused of killing nearly two dozen suspects in various encounters and is seen leading police operations and handling the district’s policing affairs even after he was suspended around five months ago in April, following a controversial press conference in which he claimed to have arrested two workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) with links to the Indian intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
When The Express Tribune contacted SSP Anwar, his remarks contradicted the department’s version fed to the media earlier. “I was not suspended, even for a minute,” he said categorically. “What I do is not for my personal benefit; it is for my country and people. Those who talk will keep talking. I will keep doing what I do,” said the SSP in his defence.
“These officers are allowed to continue to work for the police force as they have a good hold in their respective areas,” said a senior police officer in their defence. “It is common practice in the police department to give a chance to such officers to come back in the force.”
Read: ‘Unreasonable’ demands: Police refuse to escort judges, lawyers
Citing the example of former Quaidabad SHO Amanullah Marwat, who was among the suspended SHOs, the officer said that Marwat had built a good rapport in the area as he had played a vital role in the elimination of militancy during his posting. “Quaidabad had become a stronghold of militants but he [Marwat], during his tenure as SHO, curbed it effectively,” said a police official, defending the former SHO. “If he stops working, the threat will be exacerbated again. We do not have anyone to replace Marwat here.”
Likewise, a former chief of Sacchal police station, Shoaib Shaikh alias Shooter, survived an onslaught on his team when they raided the hideout of a hardcore terrorist affiliated with a banned outfit. The suspect later blew himself up in alFalah area of District Malir, last month.
Technological advancement: Sindh police to computerise crime records
SHO Shaikh was earlier dismissed from service for conducting fake encounters a number of times. The most recent controversy that got him suspended was the alleged extrajudicial killing of Pakhtun Student Federation leader Shah Kalam Mehsud on Super Highway in February 2014 when he was posted as Sohrab Goth SHO.
“I am a true lover of Pakistan. I have been dismissed but I am still working for the sake of my country,” SHO Shaikh told The Express Tribune. “If I robbed a house, you may punish me and label me a dirty man but I did no such thing, then why was I punished.”
Narrating the story of the encounter, he said he was shot in the abdomen and was treated in the Combined Military Hospital. The former SHO said that the raid was conducted on his information. Not just the encounter, Shoaib has arrested a number of militants of the same group. “I have arrested a number of militants of the same group in the last one-and-a-half months despite being dismissed from service,” he explained.
Police chief says Islamic State active in Sindh
The former SHO added that the only person who had appreciated his efforts was the army chief who had awarded him Rs200,000. The court objected, however, and an inquiry was initiated against him.
Another officer with a similar story is Napier SHO Azam Khan, who was recently wounded in an encounter with gangsters in Lyari, despite being suspended at the time. SHO Khan was shot thrice in the abdomen and shoulder.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 19th, 2015.