Police morale at low ebb after Tahir Dawar’s murder

PESHAWAR: The morale of the police force is at low ebb following the kidnapping and murder of Mohammad Tahir Khan Dawar and the poor handling of the case by the government and the police, a source told The News.

The source said there is anger among the junior officers and the rank and file of the KP Police, especially the Capital City Police in Peshawar, following the incident. They are asking as to who will protect the low-ranking officials if the government and the force cannot recover an officer of the rank of superintendent of police (SP).

Tahir Dawar went missing on October 26 from the federal capital Islamabad, a relatively peaceful city. "There is anger among the junior officers from deputy superintendents of police down to constables. They believe the case could have been better handled and his safe and sound recovery ensured by the government and the police force, which is supposed to protect the general public," the source added.

The source pointed out that policemen are particularly angry over the way everyone kept silent when he went missing. They believe the force always stood strong when senior officers like Safwat Ghayur, Malik Saad and Abid Ali were martyred but the case of Tahir Dawar was different from all other incidents.

"The killing of an officer or junior cop in a random attack is not something that can lower the morale of the force as every policeman is ready for it. The thing that made them angry is that nothing solid was done for the safe recovery of Tahir Dawar despite the passage of over two weeks after his kidnapping," the source said.

The family and colleagues also want the case to be properly probed to find out the facts behind the kidnapping and killing of Tahir Dawar, a bold and competent police officer who was serving as acting SP Rural in the provincial capital.

The family has already rejected the joint investigation team constituted by the Islamabad Police, arguing that the incident should be probed through any international body as two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, are involved in it. Tahir Dawar went missing from Islamabad on October 26 and his body was found in Afghanistan on November 14.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police, Salahuddin Mahsud on Saturday told reporters that a joint investigation team has been constituted to probe the incident. He said they are hopeful that the Islamabad Police would work out the case.

The KP Police spokesman Waqar Ahmad rejected the reports of low morale of the KP Police following Tahir Dawar's kidnapping and murder. "We have sacrificed over 1,560 policemen in the last few years but the force stood firm on every occasion, including that of Tahir Dawar Shaheed as we are here to protect the life and property of general public at all costs," he said.

About the state of the investigation into the incident, Waqar Ahmad said the police and the Counter-Terrorism Department were making all-out efforts to work out the case. Meanwhile, the people continued to visit the residence of Tahir Dawar in Peshawar's Hayatabad locality to offer condolences to his family on the fourth day of his funeral on Sunday.