Officials of Rangers, ISI: Inquiry into Karachi incident by army recommends removal

ISLAMABAD: The Court of Inquiry formed on the orders of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa Tuesday recommended the removal of Pakistan Rangers and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials involved in the "Karachi incident" for creating "an unwarranted situation causing misunderstanding between two state institutions."

"Court of Inquiry on the orders of COAS pertaining to the issue of redress of Inspector General Police Sindh's grievances, in the backdrop of 18 Oct 2020 Karachi incident, has been completed," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

The inquiry had been ordered by the army chief on October 20 directing Commander Karachi Corps to immediately inquire into the matter, after the Sindh police chief and several senior officers of the provincial police force had sought extended leave from duty saying they had been left demoralised due to the circumstances surrounding the arrest of PML-N leader Capt Muhammad Safdar(retired) on October 19.

The statement issued by the ISPR on Tuesday notified that the inquiry "pertaining to the issue of redress of Inspector General of Police Sindh's grievances" had been completed and that it had recommended the removal of all security agencies' officers found involved in the events of October 18 and 19, 2020.

"The Court of Inquiry has established that on the night of October 18/19, officers from Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and the ISI sector Headquarters Karachi were considerably seized with the fallout of the desecration of Mazar-e-Quaid," the statement read.

"They [the security officers] were under increasing public pressure to ensure prompt action as per the law. Assessing the response of police authorities against this developing yet volatile situation to be slow and wanting, in a charged environment, the concerned ISI/Rangers officers decided to act, rather over-zealously," the statement added.

"They were indeed experienced enough to have acted more prudently and could have avoided creating an unwarranted situation that led to misunderstanding between the two state institutions," it said.

The ISPR statement said that "it has been decided to remove the concerned officers from their current assignments for further departmental proceedings and disposal at [the Army's] General Headquarters (GHQ)."

Responding to the court of inquiry, Information Minister Shibli Faraz appreciated the Army Chief for initiating the inquiry and implementing the recommendations.

"We accept what happened. Since the issue was concerning Quaid-e-Azam, they [security officials] acted emotionally which I feel they should not have."

"But the ISPR has given its decision and we welcome it," he added.

"Now that the ISPR has issued the finding, Sindh IGP Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar should also investigate the 'mutiny' in police," he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020