Zubair Qureshi
In view of the deteriorating law and order situation in the federal capital, particularly in the wake of the cold-blooded murder of a 22-year old university student Osama Satti on the eve of the New Year on the Srinagar Highway by the police, the federal government has removed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Islamabad Amir Zulfiqar Khan and appointed Qazi Jamilur Rehman as the new IGP.
According to a notification issued by the Establishment Division on Wednesday, the federal government has transferred the PSP (Police Service of Pakistan) officer of BPS-20 from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to Islamabad as Inspector General of Police in his “own pay and scale with immediate effect and till further orders.”
The sources in the police however are not happy with the unceremonious exit of their former boss and are of the view it is the new Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed who is to blame for deplorable law and order situation in Islamabad.
Since his arrival last month as Interior Minister, Sheikh Rashid ordered removal of all security checkposts from Islamabad roads that has encouraged thieves and robbers to strike at various residential sectors of the federal capital, said a senior police official while talking to Pakistan Observer on Wednesday.
“We had drawn the Minister’s attention towards the repercussions of this step, but he perhaps for the sake of publicity or what didn’t listen and abolished all checkposts that paved the way for thieves,” he further said.
Meanwhile, judge of an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad extended for seven days the physical remand of the five policemen arrested for their alleged involvement in Osama’s murder.
The investigating officer (IO) had requested the court to remand the accused for another 12 days. The judge inquired whether the weapons used in the killing had been recovered.
The investigating officer replied that weapons have been seized from the accused. “We have also recovered shells,” he said.
The IO also informed the court that a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has also been constituted by the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad and it is recording statements and doing its work.
On a query by the judge, the IO said five bullets were shot from behind while one bullet was shot from the front side at the murdered youth.
The judge however didn’t agree with his reply and observed the IO was not showing the right picture. This shows the IO’s ill intention and action can also be taken against him for misleading the court, the judge remarked. The judge also directed the IO to produce the picture of the driving seat and observed it was not possible that shells were recovered from the seat and there was no mark. The IO replied no photo was taken.
On this occasion, counsel for Nadeem Satti, Osama Satti’s father, said the police was trying to tamper the evidence. They had killed the youth mercilessly and now they are trying to remove the marks of murder, he said.
