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Ziarat SP suspended following terrorist attack on police post; committee formed to probe incident

QUETTA: The Ziarat superintendent of police (SP) has been suspended following a terrorist attack on the Mangi Dam police post, it emerged on Wednesday. On Tuesday, at least nine police officials, including two station house officers, embraced martyrdom in the attack, while 15 alleged terrorists were killed in a clearance operation after the attack. Balochistan chief minister’s aide for media and political affairs Shahid Rind, confirmed the SP’s suspension to Dawn and said that the government had issued a notification in this regard. Separately, the provincial government also constituted a four-member inquiry committee to probe the incident. According to a notification dated July 7 and available with Dawn, the committee was tasked with establishing the “complete sequence of events leading to, during and after the terrorist attack”. The committee will also ascertain the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident and evaluate the deployment, preparedness, response, command, control and coordination of all concerned law enforcement and security agencies. It will also investigate if there was any “negligence, dereliction of duty, operational lapse, failure of command and control, lack of coordination or cowardice” by law enforcement officials. The committee was further tasked with assessing whether the current “standard operating procedures (SOPs) and security arrangements for the protection of the installation were adequate and properly implemented”. It will also fix responsibility on an individual or organisation, “wherever warranted, in accordance with the applicable laws, rules and service regulations” and recommend subsequent disciplinary, administrative or legal action against the responsible actors. The committee will also “recommend immediate, medium-term and long-term measures for strengthening the security of Mangi Dam and other critical infrastructure across the province”. The notification further added that the committee may also recommend policy, institutional or operational reforms to prevent the future occurrence of such incidents and directed the committee to submit its report within 15 days. “The committee shall have the authority to call for any record, summon any officer or official, examine witnesses, inspect the site, obtain expert opinion and co-opt any technical expert(s), if required, for the effective conduct of the inquiry,” the notification said. On Tuesday, a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti had reviewed the law and order situation in Ziarat after the attack. He had also met the families of the martyrs, visited the inju­red, and expressed solidarity with the security forces. The CM had directed that the operation against terrorists and their facilitators should be taken to its logical conclusion at all costs, and that no opportunity should be given to the anti-state elements to regroup. He said all law enforcement agencies should continue their operations in a more effective, swift, and decisive manner with mutual coordination.