Daily Times

I was to come back to serve in Lahore twice again: once as a Major in 1982 to 1984 and the next time as a Colonel in the fabled Corps Headquarters in 1991 to 1993. Both were vastly different and quite challenging tenures. It was 1982 and Major-General ‘George’ Rabbani, a divisional commander in Lahore, had just been sacked by the late General Ziaul Haq presumably for asking a leading question about the shape of things to come after General Zia was gone. Rulers without legitimacy are always quick to shoot from the hip at the slightest threat to their position.

Then came General Zia’s infamous Nizaam-e-Salaat, the enforcement of prayers during office hours and his notorious referendum in quick succession. Nizaam-e-Salaat never took off as it was put in place extremely hurriedly. Most of the appointees drew severe public resentment due to their trademark inflexibility, lack of homework and pure thick headedness. There was a sort of ‘ill fit’ feeling about prayers during office hours but, with effort, the army overcame its reservation and then typically overdid it. Resultantly, in their race for piety and for some to be noticed, work in the army offices practically stopped by one o’clock and hardly restarted till the next day under convenient permission or, rather, insistence. This particular practice, most regrettably, gave rise to the contemptible use of religion for seeking service advantage by the unworthy where it was not due. Prayers, dars, tableeghi zeal and numbers of umras performed began to be factored into informal considerations for higher ranks and prized appointments. Two ominously parallel streams began to emerge in the army — one superficially faith-coated and the other hardcore professionals. Under direct patronage of General Zia, the former thrived at the cost of the army and eventually the country. This led to a duplicitous environment, which resulted in not only fragmenting the army on sectarian lines but also extension of the same patronage to civil society with horrible consequences. General Zia also invented the ingenious method of creating ‘pious’ freeloaders by sending people on Hajj and umra on state expense.

A lot has been said about the preposterous Zia era referendum. It needs to be understood that the Pakistan Army is not trained to pass democratic judgement over the suitability or otherwise of a sitting army chief. Ridiculous as it was, so it passed off as a non-event for us leaving behind a bad taste.

Those familiar with Lahore Cantonment’s geography know that Dharampura is located immediately to the north. It was late 1991 or early 1992 when, one day, an officer rang up to inform that a violent mob had gathered in front of Dharampura police station because one or two people had been killed by the police and they were about to attack the police station. This was a potentially explosive situation with possible ugly effects on law and order, that too practically inside the boundary of the Cantonment. I was a senior staff officer in the Corps Headquarters then, and decided to visit Dharampura police station myself. This particular wild impulse had exposed me to needless hazards earlier and would do so many times more, much against my remaining valour, in the future too. Within a few minutes I was there. What unfolded was a scene of complete riot, chaos and a highly volatile mob preparing to assault the police station and its besieged staff. Seeing trouble, all the shops were closed and the size of the crowd was visibly swelling up. Clearly, there was murder in the air and no time left to waste. Through the reluctantly parting mob I drove straight to the police station’s main door, which was tightly bolted from the inside. There was a clear sigh of relief amongst the policemen on seeing the ‘reinforcements’ arrive. Nobody really knew that it was a lone military jeep and not a full relief force. Their telephone lines had already been snapped.

To my surprise, I found the SSP Lahore and an SP amongst those besieged. This seemed like commendable solidarity and an act of leadership on their part. Quickly, we took stock of the situation. Briefly: a car had been snatched in Shadman Colony and a police mobile gave a chase. They were trying to escape along the canal bank but the police intercepted them near Dharampura canal bridge. This resulted in a shootout in broad daylight and in full view of the locals. A carjacker and a bystander were killed. The SSP Lahore and SP rushed to the spot to take control but were forced to take shelter in the police station. Apparently, the mob’s anger was due to the death of a bystander but it was unknown whose bullet killed him. The situation needed to be immediately diffused. The police officers agreed to see the mob leaders. I was able to prevail upon the ringleaders outside to first discuss the matter with the officers inside on my guarantee of safe conduct (no arrest). At the end of an hour-long meeting with an unlikely moderator like me, tempers cooled, hands were shaken, tea consumed and the matter resolved. We parted as friends tested under duress, my impulsive induction into the scene notwithstanding.

Tariq Khosa was the SSP Lahore (and has retired recently as the federal secretary). At the time of crisis and direct physical threat to his personal safety, I found him cool and self-composed; no coincidence then that he belongs to a gifted family. I was to come across this exceptional police officer a number of times again and have always found him level-headed and upright. The next test came soon but this time we were facing each other across the fence. It was when young army officers ransacked the Liberty police station in a fit of rage just before Eid.

The writer is a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army. He can be reached at clay.potter@hotmail.com