As thousands experienced in
Islamabad and millions witnessed on their television screens, Islamabad became a
platform for various police forces to show what they are capable of. Punjab
police, generally, can be regarded as the flagship for barbarism. However on
that day they found their match as all the other forces gave no quarter. The
practice boards, however, were the demonstrators including the elderly, women
and children. Of course, it would be unfair if the police casualties are ignored
here as they too suffered injuries. The time cannot be turned, the deaths cannot
be undone and the injuries cannot be revered. However, there are no less than 5
reasons for high-profile dismissals.
If the protests have ended without these dismissals then it will set an
undesirable precedence of suppressing protests with the brute force.
The Parliamentarians are trying to convince the world (and themselves) that
there is democracy in Pakistan and that it must prevail. If there are no
dismissals, then this claim would be no more than a damp squib.
Blood of Model Town is still on the roads and not even the torrential rains in
Lahore can wash it. If that tragedy is followed by another without legal
consequence in the form of dismissals then it will only increase the gap between
the Parliamentarians and the rest of Pakistanis!
It was the Capital. Dismissals should happen in any place following an event of
this magnitude, however, the Capital holds a different value. If people die at
the hand of their protector in the nerve centre of the land (as Khawaja Saad
Rafique would put it) then the full force of the law ought to be demonstrated.
Dismissing people of higher offices would be a very good start.
As there are rigorous demands for the resignations of CM Punjab for the Model
Town tragedy and PM Pakistan for election rigging, these dismissals can ease off
the political pressure somewhat. The flip side of the coin is that if there are
no dismissals, it would acutely exacerbate the current turmoil.
What may amount to a high-profile dismissal:
Senior police officers in the Police chain of command, Islamabad administration
and Ch. Nisar are very good candidates.