Arrest harms PTI’s reputation

PESHAWAR: The widespread condemnation of the arrest of Awami National Party (ANP) General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain in the murder case of a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) worker in his native town Pabbi, Nowshera district, has proved counterproductive for the PTI-led provincial government, and also exposed its claims of non-intervention in police affairs.
People in general believe that Mian Iftikhar, the true follower of freedom fighter Bacha Khan’s philosophy of non-violence who lost his lone son – Mian Rashid Hussain– in a terrorist attack in the same area a few years ago, can never think of taking the life of a boy.
A known figure in the national politics, Mian Iftikhar is the most accessible political personality. Everyone knows him personally and this was the reason that loud voices started coming so swiftly after his arrest in the seemingly manipulated case.People right from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other party chiefs to a common man expressed concern over the development. Even PTI Chairman Imran Khan could not hold back appreciation of the “brave man”, saying that he had a lot of respect for him. However, he tried his best to make the point that police were impartial and nobody in the provincial government exerted any pressure to implicate the nationalist politician in the murder case.
But the statement of the slain boy’s father in the court made things clear. Sher Alam, father of the murdered boy, said neither the ANP leader nor his guards were involved in the killing of his son. He also admitted that he had been pressured to name Mian Iftikhar in the FIR. According to him, the PTI’s violent mobsters forced him to charge the central ANP leader.
Known for his courageous stance during the long war against terror, Mian Iftikhar is one of the most committed political leaders in the national politics. He has no charges of financial corruption or misbehaviour against him. He has been the first to visit the sites of terror activities and the hospital to express sympathy with the victims and their families.
Even now when his party is not in power in the province, he can always be seen taking the lead by visiting hospitals, attending funerals and expressing sympathy with affected families. His positive attitude has made people even from the rival political platform to respect him.
His implication in the murder case and arrest even before registration of the FIR has posed serious questions on the stance of the provincial government and its police.People in the streets and the political circles are asking questions about the provincial government’s sincerity, though Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has been strongly denying any role in the issue.
Mian Iftikhar is not the only person to be charged in an FIR, but the police have never shown so much efficiency to arrest the accused. More than 20 people were killed in election-related violence across the province, but Mian Iftikhar was the lone among the accused to be arrested for murder.
A minister in Pervez Khattak’s cabinet has also been charged in multiple FIRs, but he hasn’t been arrested despite public pressure.The Mian Iftikhar episode coincided with the arrest of some other political figures on other charges, including corruption, providing an opportunity to the critics of the PTI provincial government to blame it of political revenge.
It is, however, encouraging that after the statement of the slain boy’s father and the public pressure, release of the ANP leader may be secured today. The chief minister also issued a statement that efforts were being made for the release of Mian Iftikhar.