President Asif Ali Zardari has turned down request of Sindh government to stop reversion of promotion to the ranks of 47 police officers after the intervention of Pakistan Army. The police officers, who were requested to be reinstated on their ranks include Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), Superintendents of Police (SPs), Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) and inspectors, it is reliably learnt.
Insiders in Sindh home department told Pakistan Today that the provincial government has sent names of selected police officers to President Asif Ali Zardari to stop demotions of some police officers, who were promoted to the next ranks under article 236 on own-pay scale (OPS) over the last few years, because of their valuable contributions in fight against terrorism. “The provincial government in summary to president adopted view that although these officers promoted to next rank but they retain pay and allowances of old rank and they have played key role in arrest of banned terrorist organizations,” he added.
He said the provincial police department in a campaign demoted thousands against out of turn promotions on OPS has demoted thousands of officers to their ranks. “After attack on SSP Malir Rao Anwar in April this year, the home department sent names of 47 police officers, who have played an important role in the war against terrorism in the metropolis, to presidency with claim that these officers always at target of terrorists and they should be given reinstated at their ranks in order to maintain deterrence on terrorists,” he added.
“Taking case of the SSP Malir Rao Anwar as example, who was on the top of 47 police officers list to President Zardari for instatement and earlier survived in terrorist attack in April near Malir Halt, the provincial home department claimed that these police officers fought against terrorism and they should be given security and power in order to restrict activities of the terrorist organization and to maintain their deterrence on them,” he said.
Pakistan Army making base of Military Intelligence (MI) regarding attack SSP Malir Rao Anwar on April 05, 2012 that the attack was planned to stop demotion of some of police officers, he said, adding that they have not found single evidence that prove the attack was carried out by any terrorist organization.” “MI termed the attack an eye-wash and in its report to general headquarter (GHQ) said it could be result of personal enmity, he said.
He said Crime Investigation Department (CID) SSP Fayyaz Khan, who fought against terrorists for more than a decade, was also present in the list. SSP Khan 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 said, adding that SSP Khan sustained serious wounds in attack by terrorists, when he received a parcel bomb on October 10, 2002, which exploded in his hands,” he said.
SSP Khan 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 in list was the name of Chaudhry Aslam, who has famously arrested several target killers and terrorists, the insider disclosed.
Last year, he survived in pre-dawn 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, the name of Farooq Awan, who had 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, was also in list of 47 police officers. Awan also survived in attack when a bomb, planted in a motorcycle, exploded in a parking lot situated near his house,” he said.
Later, Awan 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 list, which had arrested Lal Muhammad alias Lalu of the LeJ and the attackers who planned attack on former President Pervez Musharraf during his visit to the Defence Exhibition at Expo Centre.
