MANIPULATION has been found written all over the Karachi police’s tackling of the murder of Parveen Rehman, the late director of Karachi’s well-known Orangi Pilot Project.

A judicial inquiry report prepared for the Supreme Court more or less dismisses the evidence collected to pin Ms Rehman’s killing on a man named Qari Bilal, and casts serious doubts on the version that the killer was himself shot dead in an encounter with the police.

A reinvestigation, the inquiry says, would be in order, by policemen who can be trusted. This is painful but something which was being feared. All sane voices coming together with the aim of having Ms Rehman’s killers arrested failed to make much of an impact on the investigation.

In fact, the police wasted crucial time — more than a year — on preparing a case that turned out not to be based on facts and hard evidence. It is feared that some of the evidence may already be irretrievably lost, resulting in a huge challenge for those who will now investigate the case.

This is material for not just criticising the police but also taking to task those officers responsible for apparently distorting the facts. This is reflective, once more, of the deep malaise that exists within the police force.

Manipulation is more than simple ignorance or oversight or incompetence. Manipulation is deliberate. It requires will and ability and is resorted to when there is a firm conviction that the truth will never come out. If a number of policemen believe they can conceal facts about such a high-profile crime, the fate of less-publicised, routine investigations can only be imagined.

Ms Rehman’s case also shows the extent to which a corrupt system allows officials to operate with impunity and to encroach on the rights and space of people. The court may intervene from time to time but ultimately, the system will have to be reformed so that no one is able to use it to hide the truth.