Lesson from Sahiwal tragedy

We, as a nation, always react, never act, and then forget and wait for another tragedy to occur. We never learn any lessons and try to improve so that tragedies don't occur more often.

We also look for temporary solutions in handling serious issues and make those temporary solutions permanent and part of the state policy. When the extrajudicial killings became part of the state policy and the state tried to cover up, it only encouraged the law-enforcement agencies, particularly police, to do what they did in Sahiwal.

The Sahiwal tragedy was not the first nor it will be the last as it reflected the police mindset, and the policy adopted by the state years back in dealing with militancy to kill suspects in encounters, instead of following judicial process. Had the media not created the hype and women and children were not involved, the Punjab police and the government would have even announced reward money for the raiding party.

So, what lesson can we learn from Sahiwal and change this mindset of killing people in so-called encounters.'

Only on Sunday, a couple got injured in a police firing in Korangi area as police claimed they were caught in crossfire.

The facts of the case clearly indicate there was no encounter. It could have been worst as the woman was pregnant and her condition was critical.

While we still await the findings of the JIT, constituted to probe as what exactly happened. The CCTV footage, statements of eyewitnesses and the stories which so far came out have confirmed that it was a fake encounter and the way the parents and their 14 years old daughter were killed in front of two minor and nine-year-old boy were just in cold blood, as there were no evidence of any resistance from the suspected driver Zeeshan.

The policy of fake encounters was first adopted in the 1990s, particularly in Punjab and in Sindh, to handle dacoits and militants of sectarian and ethnic groups. Importantly, the track record of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police had always been much better as compared to other provinces in fake encounters.

It was accepted as an alternative to judicial process of getting militants convicted and hundreds of them were killed and police parties were rewarded with cash. Millions of rupees were announced as reward money and even Presidential Awards were given to some police officers without going into details of the encounters, whether they were genuine or fake.

We have not learned any lessons nor adopted any policy to improve our police system, judicial system and handling of terrorists or militants. Our prisons or jails have become hub for militants. Even if they are convicted, they enjoy all kinds of facilities within the prison including mobile-phone facilities.

Police officers like former SSP Rao Anwar was the product of this policy and what he did over the years in Karachi, was part of the state policy, which encouraged killing of suspects in encounters and he, along with some other police officers, were duly rewarded for their 'services.'

Is it not true that Rao Anwar was a hero for many prior to Naqeebullah Mehsud tragedy. Even in the post-Mehsud incident, he did face few problems like his name on the ECL, but in the end retired after completing his full service. Later on, many police officers were also targeted and killed allegedly by militants, but this policy continued even today. In Punjab, militants of outlawed and sectarian outfits were also killed in fake encounters.

Unfortunately, successive civilian and military governments never tried to improve the system. Once former chief justice of Sindh High Court Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid issued a directive that police officers should not be rewarded for arrest or killing suspects unless a judicial process is not completed. It is true that at times extraordinary situation required extraordinary measures and we adopt extraordinary measures as permanent policy and never try to improve our policy and the judicial system.

The Model Town tragedy, in which 14 people including women, were killed also reflected the state policy and what police did was brute use of force. The CTD Punjab record must have been excellent in handling many terrorist attacks, but how many people they had arrested had been convicted in due legal course and how many killed in encounters, need to be determined. If I am not mistaken or wrong, one of the senior CTD officers was the one who once faced trial of the late Mir Murtaza Bhutto's murder in a controversial police encounter on Sept 20, 1996. Later on, all police officers involved in it were acquitted.

In Sahiwal tragedy too, the CTD team would have also been rewarded had women and children not involved and the media had not created the hype. The Tragedy was later on followed up with attempts to cover up the incident.

The CTD version looked confused and contradictory. Yet, they still defend the encounter and called one of the victims, Zeeshan, a terrorist. In addition, they even went ahead and declared that two of his accomplices were suicide bombers.

They also claimed to have recovered huge weapons from the car whereas it has now more than confirmed that the family was going to attend a wedding party. However, what still needs to be determined is the motive behind the killings and how the whole issue was later covered up.

It is also important for the JIT to check the data of the policemen involved in the operation, their background and training capacity. If we really want to avoid tragedy like Sahiwal, we need to change the police mindset and also of the state. We can learn lessons from other states like the US and Britain and how even countries like Sri Lanka successfully overcome terrorism and militancy. Unless we improve our police and judicial system, it would be difficult to avoid tragedies like Sahiwal.

The writer is a senior columnist and analyst of Geo, The News and Jang.

Twitter: @MazharAbbasGEO