ISLAMABAD: Though the fires of “revolution” and “change” lit by PAT and PTI at the Constitution Avenue have gone cold, their heat is said to be searing senior city police officers now.

Dawn has learned that the Central Police Office of Islamabad recently wrote to the Interior Ministry to post out Superintendent of Police Capt. (retired) Mustansar Feroz, against the wishes of the police hierarchy.

SP Feroz enjoys the reputation of a “professional officer” in the ranks but fell in disfavour with the interior minister for not carrying out orders to forcibly stop the anti-government protesters during their more than two month-long noisy sit-ins outside the parliament building, according to sources in the police and the interior ministry.

They said fresh directions came from the interior minister in mid October to ease out SP Feroz. However, to keep the worthy officer out of glare, the Inspector General of Police of Islamabad posted him as supervisory officer of City Zone and sent him on two-week leave.

“The IGP is trying to keep him in the city police because of his good service record,” said a senior police officer.

SP Feroz was among the several police officers who were against crushing down the PAT and PTI dhranas, which the government found irksome and embarrassing. He was the first officer to disregard the interior ministry’s orders to use force to stop the protesters from breaching the high security Red Zone and occupying the Constitution Avenue. That they did two days after they were conditionally allowed to enter Islamabad unhindered.

But the police command faced a real test when charged PAT and PTI activists tried to march on the Prime Minister’s House in the area on August 30 night. Though the police carried out the order to use force, and prevented the attempt, the PML-N government and its allies viewed it as half-hearted action by the police.

As the situation was building up to a violent confrontation, Senior Superintendent of Police Mohammad Ali Nekokara requested the interior ministry on August 26 to post him somewhere else since he saw blood.

He was assured the next day that the government did not contemplate use of force against the protesters.

On August 29, the then acting IGP Khalid Khattak asked SP Feroz to be with SSP Nekokara during the police action. But he refused and wanted to resign, only to be dissuaded by other officers.

Police sources said SSP Nekokara went on leave and the interior ministry offered the senior most officer, SP Capt (retired) Mohammad Ilyas, the post of SSP Operation but he did not assume charge.

Government circles accused the refuseniks of having “soft corner” for the PAT and PTI which called for disciplinary action against them.

But their colleagues argue that “SP Feroz as supervisory officer of City Zone, and others, had to keep contact with the leadership of the two parties for their personal and the site’s security and many other reasons”.

“The interior minister may have a view that they acted improperly and disobeyed orders but they did so because they thought use of force against the protesters would put the government in more trouble. Indeed, they did use force when it was needed on August 30 and 31,” they say.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2014