Lone ranger leaves entire security apparatus with egg on its face
Three questions need answers regarding the almost six-hour long standoff in the heart of Islamabad. First, how come a man with a submachine gun and a Kalashnikov managed to reach the central Jinnah Avenue neighbourhood, less than a kilometre from the presidency and the parliament buildings? There are several major check posts on way to the Red Zone s where vehicles often form long queues on account of inspection. The government officials, well known parliamentarians and media persons are all required to stop and allow the search. That the car was not searched as it was carrying a woman and two children is no cogent explanation as any terrorist can take his family or that of a collaborator along, drop them at a convenient place and go ahead with his destructive plan. What has happened indicates a highly serious security lapse.
Second, the fact that it took nearly six hours to arrest Sikandar Hayat indicates a lack of a standard operating procedure to deal with a situation of the type. A single man seemed to have taken hostage the entire security network, the elaborate apparatus not knowing how to disarm and arrest him. Apparently there was confusion with regard to who was in command. The crime scene should have been urgently cordoned off to save the crowd of spectators comprising men, women and children who had gathered at the place. It took hours before somebody decided to get the area vacated. Police seemed to be more interested in removing the reporters than anyone else. The SSP Operations entered into talks with the armed man but there was apparently no plan ‘B’ if talks failed, which eventually did. It goes to the credit of PPP leader Zamurd Khan to attempt to disarm and overpower the person. But this raises a third question. Why were police officers, supposedly trained in dealing with armed criminals, not willing to take the risk, handing the initiative to a concerned politician to do their job for them? To many this would indicate a sagging morale among the force. With the talk of holding parleys with the terrorists continuing, police men are likely to be hesitant to put their lives in danger as happened during the DIK jailbreak.
Soon after taking oath on June 6 the interior minister had told the media that Islamabad’s new police chief would be a crime fighter and the federal capital would be made a model district for the whole country. After what happened on Thursday, the statement looks ironic. In the absence of standard operation procedures, a clear cut division of responsibility and a motivated police force, a single crime fighter appointed police chief can only put up the type of performance, or lack of it, witnessed on Thursday. The critical lapses on Thursday raise questions about the efficacy of the interior ministry in crafting and implementing a workable security policy on a national level.
