ver a week since the attack on senior columnist and media person, Ayaz Amir, the culprits remain on the loose. Amir was on his way back from work in his private car, when he was intercepted by some six unidentified men who were equipped with automatic weapons. They manhandled Amir and took away his belongings, including his mobile phone. They also beat up his driver.

As per the FIR, the attackers threatened to kill Amir before fleeing the scene. The incident sent shockwaves among the already alarmed community of journalists.

The failure of the police to hunt down the culprits despite the resources at their disposal raises many a question with regard to the effectiveness of the law enforcement agencies as well as the Punjab Safe Cities Authorities (PSCA) whose cameras at the place of incident were found to be out of order. Hence, the police could acquire no clear image of the number plates of the culprits’ vehicles.

The question arises as to why the police did not grab footage from scores of other cameras installed on adjoining roads. Moreover, why are the police relying solely on the Safe City cameras? What about the other components of investigation such as fingerprints and materials collected from the crime scene, and the eyewitness accounts? In fact, in the presence of circumstantial evidence and the accounts of eyewitnesses, it should not have been difficult for the police to track down the culprits.

So, for the time being, the case of Ayaz Amir seems to be going nowhere. The incident has occurred at a time when the Lahore police are already under fire for their performance with regard to the increasing street crime in the city.

“We are not going to take action against anyone in haste. Only after thorough investigation do we decide whether to proceed or release those arrested if they are not proven guilty.” — CCPO Lahore

Sources say that a list of 170-odd history-sheeters has been prepared by a police secret agency. The list has not been vetted by any authentic law-enforcement agency or senior officers, as is usually the case. When the list was issued to the Lahore police, they sprang into action but, as per the sources, the police top bosses have become ‘careful’ and don’t want to risk taking action against the persons nominated in the ‘controversial’ list.

Talking to TNS, the Capital City Police Officer, DIG Bilal Siddique Kamyana, admits that the department has yet to make a breakthrough in the case. However, he does not agree that there has been a spike in incidents of crime in the city in recent days. According to him, “the statistics gathered from the Safe City Authority and Emergency 15 suggest a major drop in crimes of all natures.

“We continue to abide by the policy of hassle-free registration of crime investigation and the process of sending challans to the courts, all of which is in the interest of the public,” he adds. “We are working on a three-tier comprehensive mechanism to keep a strict eye on incidents of crime in the city. I have been personally monitoring everything on a daily basis. Rest assured that no dereliction of duty or negligence on the part of the police will be tolerated.”

The CCPO says that the Lahore police have “cleared a huge backlog of cases over the last two months which is exemplary. Challans of 1.5 million cases were sent to the court while investigation of 80,000 cases was finalised. Moreover, 26,000 appeals of police staff were heard, and verdicts were given on them.”

When asked about the ‘controversial’ list of criminals, the CCPO says, “We are not going to take action against anyone in haste. Only after thorough investigation do we decide whether to proceed or release those arrested if they are not proven guilty.”

The writer is a senior journalist and can be reached at ahsanzia155@gmail.com