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Friday, March 15, 2024

SP Tahir Dawar case: Politics over murder?

News Analysis |

Prime Minister Imran Khan met the brother of martyred Superintendent of Police (SP) Tahir Khan Dawar and promised that the government will extend “all possible assistance to the bereaved family”. PM Khan praised the services rendered by the late police officer. “Police department has lost a responsible and dutiful officer,” PM Khan was quoted as saying by media.

According to media reports, Minister of State for Interior Shahryar Khan Afridi, Special Assistant to PM on Media Iftikhar Durrani and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Salahuddin Khan Mehsud was also present during the meeting.

Analysts believe that a free and independent inquiry into SP Dawar’s brutal murder will help the state dealing with anti-Pakistan forces at home.

It is important to mention here that SP Dawar was reported missing from Islamabad on October 26 and his death was confirmed by the Afghan government on November 14. The police officer’s body along with his service card was found by locals in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

Read more: NDS, ISIS or TTP?: JIT to probe who killed SP Dawar

PM Khan earlier said that “have followed the shocking tragedy of the murder of SP Tahir Khan Dawar & ordered KP govt to coordinate with Islamabad police in holding an inquiry immediately. MOS Interior Shahryar Afridi has been tasked to oversee it with an urgency & present the report to me.”

In order to investigate SP Dawar’s abduction and murder, the Islamabad chief commissioner had formed a seven-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on Nov 16.  However, the JIT was rejected by SP Dawar’s brother, who had demanded a probe on “international level”. “My brother went missing from a sensitive city, and his body was found in Afghanistan,” he had said, adding that the case does not involve “one country but two countries”.

PM Khan praised the services rendered by the late police officer. “Police department has lost a responsible and dutiful officer,” PM Khan was quoted as saying by media.

He, therefore, demanded an International Commission to probe into the case.  “And when two countries are connected then the decision should also be made at an international level,” he added. “Due to the nature of this case, an international JIT should be formed [to investigate this].”

Read more: No headway in SP Dawar’s murder investigation

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor has said this was an act where more than one terrorist organization was involved. In a series of tweets, DG ISPR said SP Tahir Dawar’s abduction, move to Afghanistan and follow up behaviour by Afghan authorities raised questions which indicated the involvement or resources more than that of a terrorist organization in Afghanistan.

The matter became more complicated when the Afghan officials declined to hand over the dead body of the slain SP to the Pakistani officials. The Afghan delegate insisted that the body would only be handed over to Mr. Mohsin Dawar, Member of National Assembly and a prominent leader of PTM. The refusal of Afghan officials to the Pakistani delegates raised many questions in Pakistan. Prominent media person Dr. Moeed Pirzada tweeted “Afghan Govt’s refusal to hand over the coffin of a Pakistani Officer to Pakistan Govt & insistence to hand over to Mohsin Dawar raises questions about the role of Afghan Govt in the whole tragic killing of Pakistani Police Officer & Kabul’s overt backing of PTM”.

It has become now very important for the government to probe the mysterious murder of the police officer to reveal the truth. PM Khan, police and Pakistan Army have repeatedly maintained that the truth will be brought before the public in SP Dawar case very soon. Since Mr. Dawar belonged to Pashtun belt, his murder is being used by many forces in the region to seek political support from all across the country.

Read more: SP Tahir Dawar murder case: Has PTM been exposed?

To maintain peace and order and give a positive message to the citizens the state is now expected to take the matter seriously and conclude the said case as soon as possible. Analysts believe that a free and independent inquiry into SP Dawar’s brutal murder will help the state dealing with anti-Pakistan forces at home.