Suddle to go after mafias in Karachi
Suddle to go after mafias in Karachi
Sunday, April 13, 2008
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: Asif Ali Zardari has picked up brave and reputed but controversial Dr Shoaib Suddle as the new Sindh IG Police, a decision that may rock the ongoing PPP-MQM reconciliatory moves. But it clearly conveys a bold message to all and sundry that politics and terrorism would be dealt with separately as far as the province is concerned.
In what is seen as a related development, the government has appointed a new Director General IB Tariq Lodhi, who too had served in Karachi and other parts of Sindh during the mid-90s.
The appointment of Dr Suddle, who while being the DIG Karachi had led the police operation in Karachi during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure, clearly shows Zardari's intention that he means business as far as the law and order situation in Karachi is concerned. The federal government has formally notified Suddle's appointment besides promoting him to BS-22.
Sources said Zardari, after being extremely disturbed by the April 9 massacre of 14 innocent people in Karachi, decided to bet on Suddle, who knows Karachi in and out. He was the DIG Karachi from June 1995 till Nov 1996 when the Benazir government was removed.
Having his PhD in White Collar Criminology from the University of Wales, Cardiff, Suddle is such a go-getter that he had reduced the monthly killings of 350 in June 1995 to nil in January 1996.
Currently, the DG National Police Bureau, Shoaib Suddle, who is reputed as an upright and non-compromising police officer was also implicated in the killing of Benazir Bhutto's brother, Mir Murtaza Bhutto in September 1996. A team of three senior police officers in 1997 had exonerated Suddle from what they concluded was a "bogus" murder case. He was still implicated as one of the conspirators of Murtaza murder case. Interestingly, the conspiracy has been rejected and the main accused Asif Ali Zardari has recently been acquitted but Suddle is yet to be cleared in the case.
He was generally appreciated for cleansing Karachi in 1995-96 while operating under the then interior minister General Naseerullah Babar but the MQM had accused the two of being involved in what the party believes "extra-judicial" killings of its workers. In this background, the Muttahida would not welcome this appointment.
According to PPP sources, the very next day of the April 9 massacre, Suddle was made to fly from Islamabad to Karachi to meet Zardari at the Bilawal House. Suddle was reluctant to accept the assignment for the reason that he was to retire in a few months time and also because of the fact that his working might spoil certain political negotiations being carried out by the PPP. However, Asif Ali Zardari, while setting his priorities right, expressed his resolve that he wanted peace in Karachi and would not compromise on this issue. The newly-appointed IG Sindh wanted to take over his new role in Karachi next week but was asked to immediately fly to the provincial capital.
A source in Islamabad quoted Suddle as saying that he would be leaving for Karachi without having any bias against any party or group. "I don't have personal enmity with anyone. My target would be only criminals irrespective of their influence and connections," Suddle was quoted as saying.
Suddle's appointment coincides with PPP-MQM ongoing parleys for a coalition government in Sindh. Analysts believe that such a coalition is must for peace in Karachi. The top police appointment has, however, made one thing clear that the PPP wants the cleansing of what used to be called the City of Lights from terrorist mafias.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has also appointed Tariq Lodhi as Director General Intelligence Bureau but turned the agencies' hierarchal structure topsy-turvy. Lodhi, who is a regular officer of the Intelligence Bureau, is known for his professional standing but he was too low in seniority amongst top officials in the IB to have been appointed as the spymaster. While picking up Lodhi as the IB chief, the sources said, the prime minister ignored at least 10 of his seniors in the IB. The post of DG IB is not only meant for a BS-22 officer but is also part of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) cadre. It means that only a BS-22 police officer could be appointed as DG IB. However, Lodhi is in BS-20 only and also does not belong to the PSP. He is said to have been appointed as acting DG IB in his own pay and scale.
Presently, there are at least three BS-21 and two BS-20 PSP officers serving in the IB who are senior to Lodhi. Some of these officers have sought their immediate posting out of the intelligence agency after finding it hard to serve under a BS-20 officer who, interestingly, till his appointment was serving as their junior. While Lodhi was Deputy DG IB till Saturday, three of his senior BS-21 PSPs were serving as Joint DG in the agency. They are Shaukat Javed, Ejaz Akram and Javed Iqbal. Two other PSPs, both in BS-20, were Deputy DGs in the IB and they were also senior to Lodhi on account of their date of promotion in BS-20.
As far as the IB's internal cadre to which Lodhi belongs to is concerned, two officers, Shah Mehmood Alam and Khurshid Butt, are in BS-21 and stand senior to the newly-appointed DG IB. In addition to these BS-21 seniors, at least three BS-20 IB officials are also senior to Lodhi. Appointed on the recommendation of Asif Ali Zardari, Lodhi, however, remained non-controversial throughout his professional career.
STATE TERRORISM TACTICS and extra-JUDICIAL MURDER against its own citizens in Karachi. 
