DADU used to be famous for its political and social activism. But, like rest of Sindh and the whole of Pakistan, this social and political activism has gradually waned, and has been replaced by opportunism and greed. The marginalised people’s rights were protected by politically conscious and socially active workers and groups from the powerful nexus of the feudals and the official machinery.

Since the 1990s, power politics has been impacting upon central leadership of political parties and trickling down to the local leadership and workers. With rare exceptions, everybody wants position, power and wealth.

The masses have suffered, and this suffering has been intensifying with the passage of time. In this milieu, different corrupt and criminal mafias emerged and they have now become movers and shakers of the system. These mafias have strong political links and backing, and they fiercely resist any public servant’s action to perform his/her duty honestly.

Transfer of government officers is common and considered normal practice all around the world, including Sindh and the other parts of the country. But, the frequency of transfers is almost alarming in Dadu.

Two kinds of officers get transferred. There are those who do the biding of the powerful political and feudal quarters and when the situation deteriorates to unmanageable levels due to public discontent, these mafia-friendly officers are transferred to assuage public anger. But the officers transferred to other districts get rewarded with promotions and perks.

The other category is of those who resist all temptations and pressure, and work according to the rules of the game. They take on the mafia and make their lives difficult. This kind of officers become popular among the public. But when the same officers are punished for their public service and honesty, the poor working class is unable to protect them from the wrath of the powerful status quo, as working people have no organised setup or time to stand up in support of such officers.

One such officer is senior superintendent of police who became a victim of the criminal mafia. Before he was posted in Dadu, crime of every nature was rampant. However, within months of his posting, he brought normality and restored public confidence in law. Perhaps the reason behind his purported transfer might be the mafia and criminal gangs that were finding it hard to continue with their nefarious activities.

Thus, it is strongly speculated that those powerful political masters of the criminal mafia might have been behind the transfer of the said police officer. What is missing is an active and responsible citizenry which in the past used to strongly protest against the transfer of public-friendly officers.

Only a few posts in his support on social media would hardly develop a level of public pressure that might compel the powers that be to rethink and stop transferring honest officers simply for being honest.

Gulsher Panhwer
Johi

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2022