Re: Islamabad: Gunman with his family firing openly near parliament house
Actually, it was our media doing the laughing, because really, between playing indian media content and cursing everything Pakistani, they have nothing better left to do in this world. The public at large should not even have been watching this spectacle. And many responsible media personnel made a point to state that if cameras had not been there, this saga would have been over much sooner.
This statement is surprising. You do realize that his step was not bold, rather it was a gamble? He gambled with the lives of dozens of people, and one misstep could have caused a catastrophe. Now using the same analogy, we can also set this Sikandar guy free, saying that ‘uss ney kisi ko qatal to nahi kiya. Kar sakta tha, lekin kiya to nahi’. Im not assuming anything here. Im talking a fact that endangered people’s lives more than Sikandar’s own actions.
Problem is, our police is politically appointed, and do not dare talk back to a politician. That is why folks like Nabil Gabol and Zamurad were able to make their way to the front line, without any check and balance. In a normal society, noone would have been allowed anywhere close.
I gave the US example as an example of patience on part of the negotiating party. Of course the US guy had enough food to last several days, which is why the police were patient for that long. In yesterday’s case, the guy had enough food to last a day perhaps. And the police, as I said before, were tiring him out in order to force him into submission without use of force. And they were on the verge of that, which is why everything ended without any deaths, even after Zamurad’s blunder.
You are assuming a lot of things. Remember, it was the SSP who had been negotiating with him, and he knew a lot more than we did, which is why the police were showing patience and restraint. If there had been a hint of trouble, the police would have/could have taken him out. They had a million chances. Did you not see the guy walking freely, by himself, in plain sight? At times, drinking red bull while smoking a cigarette, with no ‘hostage’ close by? Snipers could have taken him out with one hand tied behind their backs…but there was a reason why they were holding back. And it was certainly not in order to let Zamuradman come in and be a hero.
Mention of PTI is off key. Zamurad’s political alliance is not the focus here. His action is…and its quite surprising that people are praising him for what possibly could have resulted in multiple deaths. There have been cases where politicians have negotiated in other countries, yes, but that is always under police mandated conditions and plans…certainly not cases of someone trying to be a super hero by force.
Crowd control was an issue, but the role of police itself was correct throughout. IGP in his interview made it clear that the strategy was to tire the guy out through stalling tactics, and then take him down without any loss of life. That is what the elite force are trained for. But our media was berating our police 5 minutes into the incident…and the public bought the media version, hook line and sinker.
I would again like to praise the police for their professionalism and restraint. Yes, there were lapses, like how the guy got into the red zone to begin with, and how there was no crowd or media control…but other than that, the police did a good job.