Distancing from political matters

ISLAMABAD: A few days before Monday’s Karachi episode, when police under pressure allegedly from the para-military Rangers, barged into a Karachi hotel room to arrest Captain Safdar in the presence of his wife Maryam Nawaz, this correspondent was told by a credible military source that the establishment is distancing itself from political matters.

The October 16 Gujranwala public meeting was one immediate demonstration of the military establishment’s distancing from a major political activity organized by the opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

However, the Karachi incident and the way in which the Rangers allegedly mishandled the Captain Safdar case after ‘kidnapping’ the Sindh police chief in the middle of the night, caused serious suspicions about the possible involvement of the establishment in this matter.

Tongues started wagging and perceptions were formed and people, particularly on the social media, started saying that the ‘kidnapping’ of the Sindh police chief and the arrest of Capt. Safdar in a cloak and dagger manner were engineered by the establishment.

What had shocked even the opponents of the PML-N and those who dislike Maryam Nawaz, was the manner in which the Karachi police was made to arrest Capt. Safdar by barging into the hotel room where he was staying with his wife. In the view of many, the tactics were immoral, unethical and against our social and cultural norms.

What was merely speculation on Monday, formally became a charge sheet on Tuesday. Initially, the Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah held a press conference and announced that a ministerial committee will hold an inquiry into the matter. The chief minister, however, was cautious and avoided naming or blaming any institution for the incident.

However, soon after the chief minister ended his press conference, the Sindh Police reacted in a unique manner, which is described by a source as a “soft mutiny”. Over a dozen top Sindh police officials, including the Inspector General, Additional IGs and several DIGs, decided to go on leave in protest.

The police officers, while referring to the Capt. Safdar episode, said that the police high command has been “ridiculed and mishandled”, which has led to the demoralization of the entire police force. In such a stressful situation, these police officers stated, they are unable to continue working.

The police reaction to the Ranger’s action, caused an immediate uproar and frenzied media discussions. It led to an urgent press conference addressed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. While expressing his serious concerns over what had happened a day earlier to his police chief as well as his political guests (Safdar and Maryam), Bilawal Bhutto stated that red lines had been crossed. He rightly said that every institution including the police deserves respect, which in this case was not the case as the force has been badly ridiculed. The action also amounted to the ridicule and disrespect for the provincial government.

Bilawal Bhutto demanded of the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the DG ISI Lt Gen Faiz Hameed to order an inquiry into the matter.

Minutes after Bilawal’s speech, an announcement from the DG ISPR stated that the army chief had ordered an inquiry into the Karachi incident. General Bajwa, it was stated, had directed the Corps Commander Karachi to immediately inquire into the matter and report back as soon as possible.

Before the final announcement came from the army chief, matters were getting extremely complex and the situation was becoming tense. The army chief’s intervention has now eased the tension. It is hoped that the outcome of the inquiry ordered by the army chief will be made public and those held responsible for the Karachi incident will be punished.

It goes without saying that it is important to give respect to the civilian set-up, the political government and the police department. Like the armed forces and other law-enforcing agencies, they too have rendered huge sacrifices in curbing terrorism and safeguarding the lives and properties of the people of Pakistan.

Every institution deserves respect, which is only possible if all institutions perform their functions within their legal and constitutional domain. Let us hope that the army chief’s action will now take forward the reported intention of the military establishment to stay away from political matters.