Pak cops accused of yet another Paan shop robbery

Karachi [Pakistan], June 16 : In an incident highlighting a further erosion of professional integrity, suspected police officers in Karachi are alleged to have looted yet another Paan shop, as reported in a complaint lodged at Preedy Police Station by a local resident, The Express Tribune reported.
Yaqoob, the complainant, recounted the harrowing ordeal where his brother Akram was present in the shop when police officers in plain clothes arrived on a police mobile. According to Yaqoob, one officer stationed himself outside while another entered the shop.
The officers purportedly confiscated cash from the counter along with imported cigarettes, amounting to about PKR 115,000 in cash and goods.
Adding to the distress, Yaqoob asserted that the officers covered Akram with a cloth and forcibly took him away in their police vehicle, eventually releasing him at a short distance but not before issuing severe threats.
Confirming the incident, police officials disclosed that a case has been formally registered and an investigation has been initiated, according to the Express Tribune.
This recent incident follows closely on the heels of another shocking case where Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Zafar Javed and his son Fahad were apprehended for allegedly looting a Paan shop in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. The arrests were precipitated by the circulation of CCTV footage capturing plainclothes officers in the act of robbery, prompting a swift inquiry ordered by the city's police chief.
According to police sources, Fahad allegedly committed the thefts under the direction of his father, DSP Zafar Javed. Shah Zeb, the complainant in the case, positively identified DSP Javed as the principal suspect and highlighted Fahad's involvement along with two other policemen who fled the scene in a police van assigned to DSP Javed.
Efforts are reportedly underway to locate and apprehend the remaining two policemen implicated in the robbery.
The incident underscores ongoing concerns about police misconduct in Karachi, where similar cases have tarnished the reputation of law enforcement. Last month, a sessions court acquitted former South SSP Imran Qureshi, DSP Umair Tariq Bajari, and others due to insufficient evidence in a case involving a robbery masquerading as a police raid at a trader's residence in Orangi Town.
Additionally, the extrajudicial killing of Naqueebullah Mehsud remains a stark example of alleged police abuse. In January 2023, a special anti-terrorism court acquitted 18 suspects, including former Malir SSP Rao Anwar Ahmed Khan and DSP Qamar Ahmed, in the high-profile Naqeebullah murder case, further exacerbating public distrust in law enforcement, as reported by The Express Tribune.