ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: The issue over the transfer of a Station House Officer (SHO) Farhat Kazmi seems to have spiralled into a major fight between two government camps.

The SHO was suspended by Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat during a raid on Kohsar police station about a week ago. Initially, the charge was absence from duty but now Mr Kazmi is being investigated for applying for Canadian citizenship and for “leaving Pakistan without official NOC.”

This may seem like a routine affair but, it has somehow gripped the entire national politics. It has activated the dons of the Capital into using their political clout with its strings reaching as far as the Presidency, the Prime Minister House and the Cabinet.

It has further deepened the friction between the Patriots group and the ruling PML-Q. A political advisor of the prime minister recently gave a statement that he was under cloud because he had dared to transfer the SHO that angered “somebody very important at the Presidency.” And now the interior minister is under pressure for his ‘over activity’ and for stooping down to the level of the SHO. His detractors are using names of people in the Presidency for getting even with him.

The ‘mismanagement’ of the city administration in handling the aftermath of Azam Tariq’s murder, which saw considerable violence in Melody area, is being used as a pretext to get Faisal removed from the cabinet. But the issue remains: why has the transfer of an SHO become so important?

Well, this incident has exposed a unique nexus of politicians, police and journalists where organised crime worth millions of rupees and the ‘fight for turf’ is at stake.

Kohsar police station is a fiefdom of sorts that may have more resources and power than, some say, the government of Balochistan. The SHO Kohsar, said a local in a lighter vein, may be the third most powerful post after the president and the prime minister.

Its jurisdiction houses the largest number of alcohol outlets, restaurants serving drinks not so soft, guest houses with dubious activities and, most important, an oriental club that may be a local version of Monte Carlo.

The issue is not about morality. Everybody knows about these ‘businesses’ but there is an unwritten code that nobody will make fuss over it. In fact, this may be one of the charms of ‘Islamabad the Secular’ where commuters are not forced to exhale their breath late at night to prove that they are not intoxicated; where whites and non-whites are not overly bothered at police pickets. But it is only through such occasional gang wars that the tectonic plates of Islamabad’s Mafia start shifting. And this otherwise serene and safe city begins to look like the ghettos of Brooklyn. A murder takes place almost everyday. It also engulfs into its fire some passer-byes as well.

A 30-year-old Chinese woman, who opened a restaurant in F-7/3 sector was recently picked up and indicted for serving liquor illegally.

The problem is that for many of her Chinese compatriots the business goes on undeterred in the same area. She believes that she got arrested because she did not apply the ‘regular grease’ in time. Or may be there was a change in the official hierarchy where a newcomer wants to change the ‘rates’ or the rules of the game that thrives on this business.

Obviously, people involved in this business are big shots. One hears about this dreaded Malik family that claims to have connections with somebody important in the Senate. Others give references of politicians in the National Assembly. Some people point fingers at realms even beyond that. Nobody knows for sure who is connected to whom in this dirty business. What is known is that a lot of money is changing hands. Crucial postings in police stations are sold because millions of rupees are involved that come from dubious businesses. And these occasional campaigns are selectively applied.

Nobody, the interior minister or anybody from police high-ups was available for comments on this issue despite our repeated attempts. Only an Assistant Registrar at Kohsar station, Akram, responded that, “everything is under control.”

Well, we don’t believe him because this Mafia war has engulfed the entire Capital where it is no longer safe to travel or dine.

The incidents of targeted firing, murder and violence have drastically increased ever since this administrative infighting began. One hopes it has nothing to do with the transfer of a mere SHO. — Amir Mateen