In Pakistan, the general perception is that police action or inaction depends on “order from above” or the status and connections of the accused or the suspect. But a recent case in Islamabad unraveled a different story.

In early June, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan asked a senior police officer to take action against a foreigner allegedly involved in smuggling women from abroad into the country for immoral activities. But it took three inquiries from the minister over the following month to move the capital police into action.

Finally, the police informed the minister that action on his order would start after Ramazan – and for good reason. It would be hard to trace the accused in the holy month when pious thoughts and law suppress evil deeds.

Action did follow after Eidul Fitr. However, surprisingly, the Security Wing of the force took ‘the action’ under the supervision of the Superintendent of Police Investigation, instead of the SP Operations Wing and the police of the area.

A contingent of 150 personnel, including commandos and Anti-Terrorist Squad was provided to the SP investigation for the action. While collecting information, the team came to know that 20 foreigners from China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Nigeria were involved in the racket in association with two groups of local people. 

Some Russians, Sri Lankans, Burmese and Turks located abroad and Afghan nationals living in Islamabad were also found working under the umbrella of these groups.  

But the biggest discovery turned out to be the contacts the racketeers maintained with the local police. After an ASI deployed at the Supreme Court, another deployed at Nilor police station and a constable of Rescue15 were identified as black sheep in the initial stage, the SP Investigation was asked to widen the search for involvement of others in officer rank.

On July 26, the team raided massage parlors and guesthouses in sectors F-8/4, F-8/3 and G-10 Markaz and arrested 35 foreigners for involvement in illegal activities. Another 24 people were also arrested from places like I-8 Markaz, Faizabad, I-8/4, I-10/1, H-11 and Ghori Town.

But the very next day, one of the foreigners, a woman arrested for human trafficking and staying illegally in Pakistan illegally, managed to escape from police custody from the district and sessions court.

That caused the interior minister to call a meeting for July 28 to upbraid the police. Furious, he asked the police hierarchy to dismiss the station house officer and the investigation officer of the case and arrest them. 

He also called for explanationa of the Sub-Divisional Police Officer and an assistant superintendent of the police of the area. The minister said he spared the SDPO the harsher action in mind against him because he has to work with the police. 

When informed that the Superintendent of Police of the area had already been transferred from his post, the minister did not consider it a solution and said he should be kicked out.

Some journalists later interceded on behalf of the SHO that he was an honest and professional officer and had nothing to do with the woman’s escape and the minister promised he will look into the matter.

“I have ordered his arrest but what you have told me about the SHO, make me rethink.”

Among the detained foreigners Zarifa Babayeva and her brother Mirdamad Babayev of Azerbaijan were found involved in smuggling people from their native country and other Central Asian states and Russia into Pakistan. They used a Nigerian in Islamabad to traffic them to Pakistan on fake visas, with stickers and stamps arranged from the Pakistan embassy in Nigeria. 

It is said the Babayevas are also wanted by their government and the Interpol and have red warrants out for their arrest.

Indeed, both were arrested in Islamabad in 2010 when the embassy of Azerbaijan informed the police of their criminal history of human trafficking and drug peddling of over 10 years. However, a city court granted them bail. They did not appear in the court for hearing and obtained bail against forged surety bonds of Rs50,000 each, according to a police officer.

Islamabad policy and the Federal Investigation Agency knew about their illegal presence in the city but took no action. 

Similarly, one madam Savida from Uzbekistan is said to have been running a prostitution den in Islamabad for a decade. She was well-connected as in 2005 she was able to keep the body of an Uzbek woman at a city mortuary without any documentation, allegedly with the help of a legislator.

Official sources admit that the detained foreigners were running immoral and illicit businesses with the support of some police officers, bureaucrats and politicians. Once or twice the capital police crackdown on them during the first decade of this century, with warnings of “strict action” issued to heads of police stations if the trade continued. 

But the trade resumed as the crackdowns and the warnings melted as the few arrested in the raids got bails and regained freedom. Net outcome of each “action” was a higher rate of share for the police from the proceeds of the trade.

Some police officers blame the Women Protection Bill for the perverse situation. Under the bill, woman cannot be detained except those involved in terrorism, murder and robbery. Other woman criminals get bail on forged surety bonds and disappear, never appearing before the investigators and courts, they say.  

In the recent case too, the women can get bail. But this time the Interior Minister has directed the police and FIA that they should be deported. They have been booked under the Foreigners Act under which they can be deported for traveling on forged documents, according to the officers.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2015

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