PM lays down the law, but will it be implemented?
The PM has spoken at last and at length on the sectarian tragedy in Rawalpindi, expressing his anger and indignation over the avoidable events immediately preceding it. At a high level meeting, he rightly directed his wrath at the local administration and the police for their combined acts of omission, the ‘criminal silence’ of the former and likewise the ‘criminal inaction and laxity ‘of the latter that resulted in 11 deaths and injuries to 56, apart from the arson of over a hundred shops. Nawaz Sharif also laid down guidelines for the investigation into the whole sordid affair and warned the concerned individuals not to seek scapegoats but to bring those actually responsible to justice without reference to their sect and standing. The Punjab police head was left speechless throughout this tirade although he admitted that the police was present in sufficient strength at the site of the incident and had later arrested nine identified suspects. The fact is, the police apparently beat a ‘tactical retreat’ – in plain language, it simply disappeared from the scene leaving the gathering an easy prey to murderers and miscreants.
A clearly overwrought PM also sought an end to such despicable acts in the future, spelling out a zero tolerance strategy against hate mongering, and ordered drafting of a cyber law within days to check the hate content spilling into the social media. It remains to be seen how forcefully these steps are taken in practice. Our track record in the implementation department is none too inspiring, one is afraid. In the present instance, a few police officers have been transferred, as is the norm in such embarrassing situations for the government, and there the matter rests.
It was the tenth of Ashura, but the local government know-alls allowed the procession to pass by a mosque of the other sect in its state of already inflamed passions. The police just ran away to save its own skin. The present force needs a ruthless and thorough purge to rid it of its black sheep and the infusion of carefully selected human material in its ranks, imbued with commitment and motivation for the trials ahead. The Punjab government too needs to get its act right and appoint people on merit to the sensitive security posts, eschewing its old habit of bureaucratic likes and dislikes. Lastly, the new breed of preachers need to employ more guarded language, especially during the Ashura, than what was witnessed on the TV channels this year. An act of heroic self-sacrifice should not be presented in term of bigotry.