A Punjab police team investigating bogus police recruits is looking into possible infiltration into the force by terrorists and members of banned outfits, especially Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) which is blamed for most sectarian violence in the country. The force has already sacked at least 136 officers who were recruited on the basis of fake appointment letters. They have been booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act. A high-powered team, comprising Multan Regional Police Officer (RPO) Tariq Masood Yasin and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abdur Rab, is investigating which of these officers have ties to banned groups or terrorists. This is a matter of profound concern, and it must not be assumed that it is an isolated incident. Investigations are now under way to see if any of those recruited had links to terrorist or extremist organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The gang issued bogus appointment orders that had genuine signatures by the appropriate officers along with official stamps and a fake recruitment number. This would have required the active cooperation of perhaps as many as several hundred people across a range of police departments. This is not something that sprang up overnight and would have taken years to grow into a mature and effective corrupt enterprise. The gang was so powerful that it was able to obtain a stay order on any investigation of them once they were finally discovered late in 2014. Fortunately, this has now been overturned by the Supreme Court. It is impossible to overstate the gravity of these disclosures. They expose a hitherto unknown level of corruption in the police that offers an open door to those of a terrorist or extremist mindset. Police records are open to fake recruits and they can operate under a cloak of legitimacy and have ‘protection’ far up the chain of command.
pk.shafaqna.com
