ISLAMABAD (ENNS) The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Tuesday said that officials of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, involved in the “Karachi incident” have been removed pending further departmental proceedings for acting “overzealously”.
In a statement, the military’s media affairs wing said that the court of inquiry constituted to redress the grievances of the Sindh inspector general, on the orders of Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, has been completed.
“The court of inquiry has established that on the night of Oct 18/Oct 19, officers from Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and ISI sector Headquarters Karachi were considerably seized with the fall out of the desecration of Mazar-e-Quaid.
“They 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 officers decided to act, rather overzealously,” the ISPR statement said.
“They were indeed experienced enough to have acted more prudently and could have avoided creating an unwarranted situation that led to the misunderstanding between the two state institutions.
“Based on the recommendations of the court of inquiry, it has been decided to remove the concerned officers from their current assignments for further departmental proceedings and disposal at GHQ,” the statement added.
Last month, the ISPR said the Army chief had taken notice of and ordered an immediate inquiry into the “Karachi incident”.
At the time, the ISPR did not specify which incident it was referring to. However, the statement came minutes after PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called on Gen Bajwa and ISI Director General Faiz Hameed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest of PML-N leader retired Capt Mohammad Safdar in Karachi.
