Daily Times

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has taken suo motu notice of the killing incident of an unarmed youth, Sarfraz Salik, by the Rangers in Karachi. The chief justice has asked the government to remove the DG Rangers and IG Sindh, because the buck stops with them. The court further said that they should have resigned themselves, and in case the government does not remove them, their salaries and perks will be stopped by the court’s orders. It is a vain hope that responsible officials resign in Pakistan. When the army, navy and the ISI chiefs did not resign after the worst security and intelligence debacles in recent times at Abbottabad and Mehran base, Karachi, why should the DG Rangers or IG police be moved to resign at the mere killing of a boy? On another note, the highest court of a country is not supposed to serve as a hire and fire authority of officials if they fail to perform their duty. Unfortunately, we are living in abnormal circumstances, and these anomalies appear to be normal.

Whether the DG Rangers or IG Sindh are removed on the court’s order or not, they must be taken to task for their denial of responsibility. The Rangers and police officials have been issuing conflicting statements and even an FIR has been registered against Sarfraz Salik for being involved in a robbery. The video footage has exposed their lies. While all sections of society, including the lawmakers, have been moved by what they saw on the TV footage, the top authorities of these law enforcement agencies are behaving as if nothing has happened. Perhaps, in their view, the only person who should be punished is the cameraman who captured the cold-blooded murder. Both the Kharotabad and Karachi incidents have laid bare the truth about our security forces. Some are now convinced that the security and law enforcement agencies are not their protectors but predators.

The echo of the Karachi incident was heard in the form of protests in the Senate and National Assembly. While the prime minister saw it fit to caution the perturbed lawmakers against using abusive language against state institutions, he failed to rein in the Minister of State for Labour and Manpower Shiekh Waqas Akram, who asserted that those responsible for killing of the youth in Karachi should be shot dead similarly in public. Unfortunately, if the lawmakers themselves make such proposals, who will uphold the respect for human rights and the rule of law? If we start shooting people publicly, what will be the difference between the state and a criminal perpetrator? This reflects a dictatorial, oppressive and abusive mindset and must be done away with. The state is not supposed to act like this. The prime minister should take his cabinet member to task. *