ISI, Rangers officers involved in IG Sindh incident removed: ISPR

On Nov 10, 2020 Last updated Oct 4, 2021

A Court of Inquiry formed on the orders of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has recommended the removal of Pakistan Rangers and Inter-Services Intelligence (IS) officials involved in the Karachi incident.

The inquiry had been ordered by the army chief after the Sindh police chief and several senior officers of the provincial police force had sought extended leave from duty saying they had been left demoralised due to circumstances surrounding thea rrest of PML-N leader Capt Muhammad Safdar on October 19.

The statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations on Tuesday notified that the inquiry “pertaining to the issue of redress of Inspector General of Police Sindh’s grievances” had been completed and that it had recommended the removal of all security agencies’ officers found involved in the events of October 18 and 19, 2020.

“The Court of Inquiry has established that on the night of October 18/19, officers from Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and the ISI sector Headquarters Karachi were considerably seized with the fallout of the desecration of Mazar-e-Quaid,” the statement read.

“They [the security officers] were under increasing public pressure to ensure prompt action as per the law. Assessing the response of police authorities against this developing yet volatile situation to be slow and wanting, in a charged environment, the concerned ISI/Rangers officers decided to act, rather over-zealously,” the statement added.

“They were indeed experienced enough to have acted more prudently and could have avoided creating an unwarranted situation that led to misunderstanding between the two state institutions,” it said.

The ISPR statement said that “it has been decided to remove the concerned officers from their current assignments for further departmental proceedings and disposal at [the Army’s] General Headquarters (GHQ).”

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari welcomed the Court of Inquiry’s decision to remove the Rangers and ISI officials involved in the incident.

“To take action against those found guilty of an act is the democratic way,” he said during a jalsa in Nagar. “Such actions enhance the prestige of institutions. I hope we will take this initiative forward and join hands to work together,” he said.

Bilawal appreciated army chief General Bajwa for taking notice of the incident and ordering an inquiry into it.

Reacting to the ISPR statement, Information Minister Shibli Faraz appreciated the army chief for initiating the inquiry and implementing the recommendations.

Information Minister Shibli Faraz, who had termed the incident as a political gimmick by the PPP, appreciated the army chief for initiating the inquiry and implementing the recommendations.

“We accept what happened. Since the issue was concerning Quaid-e-Azam, they [security officials] acted emotionally which I feel they should not have.”

“But the ISPR has given its decision and we welcome it,” he added.