You may have seen the pictures of an NH & MP officer with roughed up uniform circulating on the internet since yesterday. The initial post shows a few pictures of this officer along with a message that he was roughed up on stopping 2 over speeding cars being driven by army officers and the whole post is now being themed and promoted with a touch of anti-army commentary. Reportedly, Naseem Zehra is about to do a program on it, other channels to follow and this will be the revenue booster for the media channels for weeks to come now.

Such incidents have also happened in the past and a lot of people become emotional & believe whatever is written in such posts by the first party. It has become trendy & ingrained in the social media culture to give knee-jerk reactions to whatever becomes viral on Facebook & Twitter. The story starts with the brawl of the officer with the torn uniform and in the comments section, it leads to the 80% budget consumption of the Army (bogus statistics) to the DHA plots etc. However, amidst all this intellectual masturbation in the comments section by the e-warriors with too much free time on their hands, there is another part of the society who sensibly asks that what the other side of the story is? If you are a part of that side, well kudos to you, you’ve come to the right place.

Here’s what the other side has to say about it…

The below statement is narrated by Officer whos bro was CO there…. so its a first-hand info :
Following happened:-

The two officers were driving and crossed motorway police car. Must have driven rashly or sth.
The motorway police came in front of them, applied brakes and came and took out keys of the car.
He told he is an Army officer so the guy said I have seen many like you and started abusing him and the Army. This SI Khattak, whoever he is, is a relative of some general and he started beating and abusing and all.

The second officer also was abused and beaten at the same time.
Total manpower of motorway police was 7.
2IC from Attock fort went, who is one of the most mature officers that I have personally met in life, and tried to resolve the issue, however, some manhandling happened from both sides during this period.

CO and DIG were personally present when all were taken to Police Station. However, it was decided to resolve the issue amicably at Attock Fort. (So all went there in the supervision of Dig and CO Attock Fort). IG motorway police were in telephone contact with CO Attock fort during this period.
The issue was resolved however, that same night CO Attock fort came to know that SI Khattak who was not even involved had launched a FIR personally against Army with all fabricated stories. This speaks very low of the individual and if NH&MP was involved in this (After resolving the issue in presence of DIG) then it amounts to shameful behavior on part of that org and an attempt to malign the institution of Army.
This SI Khattak sth was not even the one who was manhandled. He is just trying to get his 5 mins of Fame out of this issue and Bcoz his family has eaten their whole life from Army so now they want to shit in the same bartan. He is trying to become Abdullah Dewana in begaani Shadi. #peace

Second Side, Second Post

AOA.
1. It is intimated that an incident of hand scuffling happened approx 1 km short of Khairabad by 1330 hrs . Maj Zafran was called by Capt Qasim. He reached at the spot to rescue officers and resolve the issue. However, 5 x indl ex NHA were trying to empower 2 x officers (Capt Qasim and Capt Danial ) with sp of wpns and local mobile police. Also during disengaging uniform of constable Jalal ex NHA was torn. Constable Atif Khattak ex NHA tried to pick his SMG which was snatched and he received few bruises.
Maj Zafran apch DPO Wahid Nsr for COORD with Police Sta Khirabad. Meanwhile Lt Col Shahid at Police Sta and took everyone to Attock Fort. DIG Ahmed Mukhtar ex NHA was also apch who personally came to Attock Fort.
2. The issue was mutually solved while addressing grievances of both parties. Team ex NHA and SSG Officers mov to their destination.
3. FIP.
Best Regards.

Now if the other side of the story is also correct, & the DIG was present in the arbitration along with the Commanding Officer of the army unit & if the issue was resolved that night, why was a FIR launched ? Did SI Khattak tell his DIG that I don’t agree with your settlement in the presence of the Army CO & at the time of the arbitration? Or did he weigh the pros of launching the FIR later? Or was he told by ‘someone’ to launch the FIR in spite of the settlement?

Even otherwise, my question is, does the motorway police have the authority to remove someone’s car keys? Over speeding or driving rashly is an offense but the maximum the officer can do on the first instance is fine as per the law of the land. Should a motorway police officer remove the keys of the vehicle? Isn’t that disrespectful & unlawful? Honestly, if your keys were to be removed while you’re seated in the driving chair, how would you feel?

Secondly, those that are trying to say that the Police was kidnapped should know that Attock Fort & surrounding area is home to both the Army & the Police. The jail is being manned by both forces and that is why it is a better-suited area for arbitration & settling of the matter rather than both parties picking up the SMG’s on the road & God forbid, kill someone.

“Illegal Detention”

Regarding the claim that the Motorway Police officers were “forcibly” taken to Attock Fort and “kept in illegal detention”, have a look at a cellphone snap from the scene and decide the validity of the claim yourself.

(Click image to view in a higher resolution)

Clearly, there were excesses on both sides & men of both organizations but what we need to understand is that there is always some small thing which leads to a bigger problem. In this case & in my opinion, it all started with the Motorway officer taking the key out of the Army officer’s car. Note that there have been instances where ordinary citizens have had brawls with traffic police resulting in the citizens getting beaten. Here’re a few links to jog your memory:-

http://www.samaa.tv/pakistan/2016/01/traffic-cops-thrash-citizen-over-parking-row/

http://tribune.com.pk/story/982911/viral-video-policeman-who-slapped-woman-granted-bail/

http://www.sabi.pk/videos/x2x1gl6

What to talk of inter-organizational brawls, here’s some links for you to ponder over & see that it’s very common for police to beat other police departments in Pakistan.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1142646

http://channel24.pk/breaking-news/2016/06/25/drunken-police-constable-beat-traffic-warden-lahore/

And for those who think that Motorway Police are so well disciplined that they cannot have, in any case at all, done something to infuriate the situation, please see the following, honest men doing their duty according to the law of the land & in the best interest of the people of Pakistan.

Anyways, according to some reports, the officers of the Army involved have also launched a counter-FIR now and the case rests with the court of law. I’m not here to take sides, but what I would like to suggest is that Police should be respectful & courteous whenever they stop a vehicle for over speeding & rash driving, as their duty is to fine the person & not to impose excessive authority, be judgmental or pass remarks. If the person doesn’t pay the fine, stop them at the Toll Plaza, if they still don’t stop, try to safely stop the vehicle, if safety cannot be ensured, note down the registration number and pursue the case through Excise & Taxation and send them a legal notice and attach a slip to the vehicles record in the database. Arguments on the road can have serious consequences for both parties, it can easily lead to overheating & a fist fight between citizens and the Police is definitely not going to resolve the issue or prevent the driver from over speeding again.

I agree that there should be no holy cows, however, a petty over speeding challan should not lead to a fight. And if Army Officers are over speeding and are not cooperating, the Motorway police can simply call the nearest Military Police (MP) unit and report the officer’s names & vehicle number to them and file an official complaint. Same goes for the Army officers, if the Motorway Police misbehaves, they can send a complaint through proper channel. This should be done rather than intimidation & inter-organizational brawls.

Secondly, even if it does happen, no government employee should be allowed to upload incidental info & images to the social media, other than those authorized to speak on behalf of the department. There should be the rule of law but with due process. Sanity should prevail.

P.S : I don’t login to see the comments, so kindly don’t bother.