Who asked you to go that far,” is the question Karachi police officers heard when they inquired about their own safety in the ever-continuing war against criminals in the city.
With a summary to revert the promotion to the ranks of Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), Superintendents (SPs) and Deputy Superintendents (DSPs) of more than 100 officers under consideration at the Sindh chief secretary’s office, the officers concerned contacted their high-ups and briefed them about the security threats arising for them and their families after their demotions, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The answer has placed the lives of the police officers, who have played an important role in the war against terrorism in the metropolis, on the line as they are always at the target of terrorists.
Sources in the police department told Pakistan Today that the police officers are shocked and disappointed with the behaviour of their high-ups as their lives are at risk.
Some of the police officers have played important roles during the past decade in curbing terrorism in the financial hub of the country and arrested or killed more than 1,000 terrorists affiliated with outlawed organisations.
The government has even applauded their services and awarded them medals. The officers and their family members have even been injured in retaliation by the criminals.
One of the police officers, Crime Investigation Department (CID) SSP Fayyaz Khan has fought against terrorists for more than a decade now. He arrested over a hundred activists of banned organisations, including the notorious Fazal Kareem, the murderer of foreign journalist Daniel Pearl, among several other high-profile terrorists.
He was seriously injured in a retaliatory attack by terrorists, when he received a parcel bomb on October 10, 2002, which exploded in his hands. The government awarded him with a medal for his bravery.
He was again on the target of assailants in an attack on the CID headquarters in 2010.
Several other CID officers, whose names are there in the demotion list include DSP Israr and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tanveer, who have also been injured in attacks on them.
Another prominent name is that of Chaudhry Aslam, who has famously arrested several target killers and terrorists. Last year, he survived an early morning suicide attack at his residence in Clifton.
Among several other high-profile terrorists, Aslam had arrested the killers of two Iranian engineers, who were killed in an attack at the Clifton Bridge.
Similarly, Farooq Awan arrested the notorious Akram Lahori – an activist of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) – and the terrorists involved in the attack on Karachi Corps Commander Ahsan Aslam Hayat.
He also survived an attack when a bomb, planted in a motorcycle, exploded in a parking lot situated near his house.
Awan later arrested the attacker, who was identified as Zeeshan. The terrorist confessed that he was ready for carrying out a suicide blast targeting the police officer, but due to some fault, the bomb exploded before time.
Raja Umer Khattab is another name on the list. He arrested Lal Muhammad alias Lalu of the LeJ and the attackers who planned the attack on former President Pervez Musharraf during his visit to the Defence Exhibition at Expo Centre.
SP Khuram Waris arrested another prominent terrorist of LeJ, Dilawar Khan, while DSP Mazhar Mashwani arrested activists of a banned organisation planning to assassinate Musharraf.
The police officers have arrested hundreds of other street criminals, target killers and terrorists and also recovered huge caches of weapons from their possession, but, at the same time, these efforts have placed their lives as well as of their family members at a great risk from criminals.
The sources said that with their high-ups indifferent to their security, the officers are now worried.
“If the government does not provide security to us, no one would ever dare to come up to maintain the law and order in the city in the future,” said an officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.
According to the Sindh police data, 1,034 officers have died in terrorist attacks during the past ten years. In this year alone, around 51 police officers and constables have been martyred.
“These officers are the cream of this department. They are the brave and intelligent ones, and the criminals are afraid of them,” the sources said.
