Recovered by army

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Plugging loopholes

 

 

The news of Awais Ali Shah’s recovery was conveyed to CJ Sindh High Court by the COAS himself at 3am on Tuesday. The CJ gave all credit to the army for securing the release of his son. The details of the operation were presented before the media by DG ISPR. Shah returned home within a month while the sons of Salman Taseer and Yousuf Raza Gilani took respectively four and a half and three years to gain their freedom. There were fears that the high profile victim might be used as a bargaining chip, creating problems for the establishment. A failure to recover him would have also demoralised the judiciary. The security agencies therefore deserve unstinted praise for securing his release.

That despite Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the ongoing combing operation the kidnappers managed to take Shah to the borders of the tribal area, crossing two provinces, raises questions about the efficacy of the security agencies and those manning several posts on the way. It is disturbing that the TTP still has helpers and facilitators who sheltered the kidnappers for nearly a month. The episode indicates that despite the army’s successes in the tribal agencies much more needs to be done before one can claim that the backbone of the terrorist networks has been broken.

Shah was kidnapped from Karachi in broad daylight. Despite receiving timely information, police moved extremely slowly. Days after the kidnapping the provincial police chief claimed that the victim was still being kept inside the city. The police and Rangers failed to stop the kidnappers from removing Shah from the city.

Arresting criminals is not the responsibility of the army. It goes to the discredit of the civilian government that it has handed over this responsibility also to the army by default. The government had undertaken to set up NACTA more than two years back. The interior minister has singularly failed to hold even a single meeting of its governing body so far. Had NACTA been activated, the announcement of the release would have come from the interior ministry rather than ISPR.

 

7 COMMENTS

  1. The splinter groups ( of whoever) kidnap and the Army keeps recovering them. A game of hide and seek. The country goes upside down when any of the VIP lakhte-jigar goes missing, but none bothers if a bread-earner of a poor family is killed or kidnapped. The society and the system that we are !

  2. People of Karachi are pathetically passive and unconcerned. Therefore they should be left to suffer. Rangers should withdraw on their own after speedy conclusion of Dr Asim and Ayyan. It is shameful that a man was abducted in a populated area in broad day light and no body reacted!!!! No body gave a chase or went to Police since they don’t come themselves. The IG Sindh had the gal to come and show his smiling face after Shah returned! This reflects the incompetent administration of the cowardly people who did not try to save a human being. Similarly the super store should be permanently shut down to teach Aghas a lesson.

    • YRG's son and Salman Tasir;'s sons were also kidnapped. Did anybody help ? Matter of fact, our whole society and system has become 'be his'. Nobody wants to share nobody's pain. If the authorities are unconcerned with the problems of a common man, Why blame men in the streets ?

  3. Can Qaim Shah read? Please translate all the comments in Sindhi and Mola Bakhsh Chandio should read it to him and then take over as Chief Minister. Saain is doing lot of damage to PPP and Sindh.

    • If Saain is doing a lot to damage to PPP and Sindh, why doesn't the PPP with majority in Sindh assembly remove him with a vote of no confidence. It means PPP is quite satisfied with the old man as chief minister, and also knows chief ministers powers are in the hands of the Chief monster, who keeps shuttling between New York, Dubai and London.

  4. Last sentence of your comments. Very much so. Latest reports suggest that Sain is to return to his home and soon.

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