Attack on journalist: SSP refuses to register FIR | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Attack on journalist: SSP refuses to register FIR

ISLAMABAD- The senior superintendent police (SSP), Islamabad, Nasir Khan Durrani, has asked Dawn to join a conciliatory committee to probe into an attack on its reporter instead of registration of an First Information Report (FIR) in view of the sensitivity of the incident and the pressure involved.

In a letter to the resident editor of the newspaper, the SSP has taken a predetermined but self-contradictory position without registration of an FIR or investigation as if he had himself witnessed the incident.

“As for the incident is concerned the factual position is that on 17th November 2001 at around 1315 hours there was a minor accident between the cars of Maj. Fawad and Mr. Faraz near Wafaqi Mohtasib Aala Office, Zero Point. Both the persons came out of their cars and exchanged hot words”, said the SSP.

The SSP then took a new direction “Reportedly, Mr. Faraz Hashmi used filthy language and abused Maj. Fawad on which he gave a punch on the face of Mr. Faraz with a result that an injury was caused at his cheek bone”, he said in the letter.

The SSP has clearly tried to make it a point to blame Mr. Faraz for allegedly using the filthy language” but contradicted his claim in the same sentence by saying both the sides; exchanged hot words

The police officer reproduced a portion of medical officer’s (MO) report “prepared in the ‘presence, of army monitoring team but’ intentionally ignored the use of blunt weapon” by the army officer mentioned in the same report.

Explaining different types of injuries defined in Pakistan Penal Code, he said: “Some are of the nature in which an FIR can be registered immediately, while for others the matter is referred to a magistrate. In the instant case, “the nature of injuries as mentioned by the medical officer is ‘simple’ as opined by the District Superintendent Police (DSP) (legal), therefore, the matter was, incorporated in the daily diary”.

However, instead of referring the case to a magistrate as explained by the SSP he took the opinion of his subordinate DSP legal as final. As a matter of fact, the copy of the MO’s report available with Dawn did not use the word “simple” as claimed by the SSP.

The Medical Officer has used the term ‘Shujaa Khafifa’ whose punishment under the PPC is up to two-year imprisonment.

Even then the SSP claimed to have handled the incident totally in accordance with law irrespective of the affiliation ‘and association of the parties, concerned.

“We are completely independent in deciding the matters in accordance with law”, claimed the SSP as if he had taken over the role of judiciary to decide the matters in accordance with law, “Although God Almighty can only do the absolute justice but we do our maximum efforts that justice on our part is not only done by, but is also seen to have been done”, pretending as if there was no one between the Almighty and the police and the later has to do the justice and not the courts.

Expressing his helplessness in registering the FIR, the SSP in the end requested the Dawn editor to “help find the truth” although he had already reached a conclusion.

Source: Dawn
Date:11/20/2001