21

First meeting with Nawaz Sharif
Mian Riaz-ul-Haq, a friend and a relative, was in the Excise and Taxa­tion Department and wanted his transfer from Sargodha to Lahore. He wanted me to talk to Brig. Qayyum, who was close to Nawaz Sharif and was also known to me as I had worked with him at the Martial Law Headquar­ters. I re­quested the Brigadier to speak to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, who was also the minister incharge of Excise and Taxation, besides being the Fi­nance Minister in the Punjab cabinet under Governor Jilani. (Nawaz was the eldest son of Mian Muhammad Sharif, the Chairman of Ittefaq Foundries Ltd, which had been nationalized in 1972 by Bhutto along with other major in­dustries in the country. Gen. Zia returned the foun­dries to the original own­ers.)
To follow up the matter, I met Nawaz Sharif towards the end of 1984 at the Chauburji residence of Brig. Qayyum. (Qayyum had suggested that I could see Mian Sahib when he would be visiting him after a few days.) I found Mian Sahib an innocent-looking, handsome and well-groomed young man. He showed openness, friendliness and spontaneous warmth al­though I was meeting him for the first time. I developed an instant liking for him.
When I made my request, he spoke to his private secretary on phone, is­sued clear orders for the transfer of Mian Riaz, and told him to send a copy of the orders to my residence. I was further impressed by his immediate grasp of the matter and efficient implementation without any vagueness. He did not give any impression that he was doing a favour to me. Instead, he let me feel as if I was doing him a favour by making him do a nice thing! He looked a different breed of a politician. I became very grateful to him not for the small favour but the graceful manner with which he did everything. His dignified gesture left a permanent imprint of his nobility on my mind. On my way back, I had a strong feeling that he was a man of destiny. Since then I have served with him in various positions and have always found him sin­cere, fair and forthright even in difficult situations. Unlike calculating, cold-blooded politicians, he does not hesitate even in showing his anger if someone tries to be clever or betrays his trust.
After some time, I learnt that Nawaz Sharif was contesting the 1985 elections from Lahore, both for the National and Provincial As­semblies. I went to see him at his Model Town residence but he was not there. I left my phone number. In the evening, I received a call from him. He asked me if he could do something for me. I wanted it to be the other way round. I asked him if I could do something for his elections in my personal capacity as a large number of my relatives and biradari members were voters in his con­stituency. I had developed a great liking for him and his noble bear­ing and genuinely wanted to do something for him.
He thanked me and said, “Only if you would do that in your per­sonal capacity, without involving your official position in any way.”
I replied, “I am not holding any important field job at present and there is thus absolutely no possibility of my using any official influ­ence.”
We never spoke on the subject again. My relatives and friends in his constituency told me that he was very popular and carried on his campaign skillfully and methodically. He won with a wide margin.
He was nominated as the Chief Minister of the province by the Gover­nor, using his powers under the Constitution but obviously with the concur­rence of Gen. Zia, while ignoring rivals from the old politi­cal and feu­dal families, including Makhdoom Hasan Mahmood, Makhdoom Altaf, Malik Allahyar, Mian Asif, Ch. Pervez Elahi and others.
Working in the Federal Security Cell, I was aware that the General did not want any politician, including Muhammad Khan Junejo and Nawaz Sharif, to consolidate his position and gain any substantial strength. He had used the 1985 partyless elections only as a device to come out of the blind alley in Sindh. Pir Pagara was essential for Sindh and his wishes had to be respected. In the Punjab, however, he could have his way and picked a non-politician, who, as the Chief Minister, would look up to him in all matters. But he had definitely un­derestimated the capabilities of Nawaz Sharif. He had real political potential and became a much bigger leader in due course of time than most people expected.

On the road to Punjab. I met Mian Sahib again in June 1985 through Brig. Qayyum and requested for a posting in the Punjab. “I would feel ex­tremely lucky if an officer like you is working with me,” he told me. I was further impressed, rather flattered, by his observa­tions. He promptly asked for my services from the federal govern­ment.
Ijlal Haider Zaidi, the Establish­ment Secretary, called me for an interview. He asked me, “Why are you keen to go to the Pun­jab?” “Because I must serve for at least two years in the field to qual­ify for my next promo­tion to the rank of IGP,” I replied. “My own batch mate, Abbas Khan, is al­ready IGP in NWFP.” He issued my or­ders for the Punjab and also prom­ised to talk to Nawaz Sharif to give me a field assignment.
I reported to the Government of the Punjab in July 1985. I met Mu­ham­mad Siddique Chaudhry, Chief Secretary, and S.D. Jamy, IGP, and re­quested them for further posting. I also called on the Chief Minister and his secretary, Mehr Jiwan Khan. I explained my need for field posting to Mehr Sahib as he would have understood it better than a politician, being himself a career officer.
I waited for quite some time but neither my posting orders came nor, de­spite my best efforts, I could see the Chief Minister again. I was worried. Jiwan Khan too was not aware of any reason why the Chief Minister was not deciding about my posting when he had him­self asked for my services with such enthusiasm. He smelt a rat. He knew that the postings were being in­flu­enced by MPAs and MNAs but I said I would be the last person to ask any­body for using his influence for me.

Dhok Khabba case. One evening in the last week of August 1985, the IGP told me to proceed to Rawalpindi during the night and take over the in­vestigation of a case, in which nine persons had been murdered in Dhok Khabba area of Rawalpindi city. I had not come to the Punjab to work as “OSD Dhok Khabba” nor was the investigation of a criminal case normally done by a senior DIG. Anyway, I took up the task in all seriousness.
It was a very tragic case in which all members of the families of two poor brothers, except two small children, had been murdered brutally with blunt weapons. The media naturally highlighted the case and there was a very strong public reaction in Rawalpindi, leading to arson and looting. There was widespread panic elsewhere in the country also, particularly in the surrounding Pothohar area where the heads of a large number of families are in the army or work abroad. The press described the unknown killers as “Hathora Group” because hammers or other blunt weapons appeared to have been used as murder weapons in some other cases also. It was widely speculated that the killers were backed by the Afghan and Indian intelligence agencies.
The quasi-democratic government came under great pressure and se­vere criticism. Rawalpindi had the best of the civil and police offi­cers at that time, with Pervez Masud as Commissioner, Afzal Ali Shig­ri as DIG and Ch. Muhammad Yaqub as SSP. The Rawalpindi ad­ministration handled the public disturbances with tact and efficiency but could not work out the case.
The main difficulty in the investigation was that the entire victim family had been wiped out and there was nobody to help in any way. I listed all possible motives, including personal, family, business, politi­cal, sabotage, jealousy, betrayal, enmity, psychopathy, and examined accordingly the avail­able evidence and clues. The possibility of bur­glary or dacoity was also ex­amined. The rape and deliberate dishonor­ing of women were indicated by physical appearance and medical ex­amination, showing pathological hatred. While every clue or piece of evidence was examined minutely, it led only to a blind alley.
After a few days, a similar case took place in a suburb of Muzaf­fara­bad, Azad Kashmir. Every member of the family had been mur­dered with blunt weapons within minutes and without allowing any noise to be raised, indicating great expertise and elaborate organiza­tion.
In both cases a heavy hatchet was left behind at a distance, with blood on its back. It could be to mislead the police. Apparently, nothing had been stolen in either case, ruling out burglary. If it was a special crime, was it ter­rorist activity or personal vendetta?
A few days later, an entire family was wiped out with blunt weap­ons in Dharam Pani village, near Havelian, Hazara district. There also a big hatchet was found at a distance. I visited that site also. In that case, Brig. Zafar Iqbal also joined me. We discussed all possibilities with Kamal Shah, DIG Hazara, and Zafar Qureshi, brilliant ASP at Havelian, both of whom had been working very hard on the case.
The Dharam Pani site provided a breakthrough. It was in a re­mote vil­lage. So, nobody from outside the village could reach there unnoticed. (Rawalpindi and Muzaffarabad sites were accessible very easily for an out­sider.) The case was traced shortly afterwards. The motives were a very old land dispute and some marriage complica­tions. The culprits had planned the offence most meticulously. One of them had even gone to see the site of Muzaffarabad case so that it could be simulated exactly to mislead the inves­tigators. Some other cases also took place on a similar pattern but were worked out.
The Dhok Khabba case was ultimately traced out by Masood Bangash, DSP Taxila, a brilliant officer. The culprit was captured by a police patrol while he was running after committing a similar crime in Taxila. He con­fessed having committed many similar offences, including the Dhok Khabba case. He was a psychopath and had murdered many people only for his sa­distic pleasure.

During the investigation of Dhok Khabba case, I was staying in the Punjab House, Rawalpindi. The Chief Minister would also stay there during his frequent visits to the federal capital. I tried to see him several times but in vain. Ultimately, I succeeded in November 1985.
He met me with a smiling face. Before I could even speak, he told me, “I know your problem.”
“Sir, if you know my problem, why don’t you give me the field post­ing?” I asked him, also smilingly.
He remained enigmatically silent for some time and then said, “There are some problems.”
“There must be other aspirants,” I guessed.
“No, no, that is not the problem although there are certainly many aspi­rants.” Then he became silent again, leaving something unsaid. While I was wondering what it could be, he spoke again. “I do want to post you but Gen. Jilani Sahib has opposed it. He does not have a good view about you. Brig. Qayyum was there and he also did not support your case. I could have posted you if I had not discussed the matter with the Governor. Now that I have done it, I find it difficult. I don’t know why he should oppose you. What do you think could be the rea­son? Why don’t you talk to Brig. Sa­hib?”
I listened to him silently and intently. “Sir, I am grateful for your kind­ness and your confidence in me. I am thankful that you asked for my serv­ices. You were under no obligation to tell me that the Governor had op­posed my posting. The Governor is your benefac­tor as he had nominated you as the Chief Minister. You must not em­barrass yourself for my sake in any way. Please don’t give me a field posting. You may even send me back to the federal government. But I would not like to go to anybody, including Brig. Qayyum. I leave everything to you.”
He was quite moved. “No, no, don’t worry,” he assured me. “I’ll not send you back to the federal government because I myself had asked for your services. Sending you back will not look nice. Anyway, I’ll do something.”
I thanked him and left. I was impressed by his truthfulness and sincer­ity. I placed my full faith in him and decided not even to remind him.

Jumping with joy. I forgot about my posting and attended fully to the arrangements for the marriage of Saira, my second daughter. Bilqis and I went to Peshawar, Abbottabad and Muzaffarabad for shopping. We wanted some light walnut furniture with carving, which Saira could take to her new home in Manchester, England.
On the last day of 1985, when martial law was to expire, we were traveling to Muzaffarabad. The moment I heard Gen. Zia on the radio an­nouncing the lifting of martial law in Parliament, I jumped with joy and ex­citement. The car, which I was driving, swerved and we nar­rowly escaped an accident.
“Have you gone crazy?” asked my wife, very angrily.
“Yes, with happiness,” I exclaimed. “Martial law is gone. Martial law is gone. Thank God, Pakistan is now safe.” It was a great moment of ful­fillment and I was really very happy.
“Pakistan may well have been saved,” she said seriously, “but we are not safe in your hands. If you behave like this again, we will be in a ditch.”
I got annoyed with her, stopped the car and said, “You are a bore and a boor.” I was so excited as well as angry with her that suddenly I broke down and cried. She was utterly amazed and started consoling me. I told her not to worry as I was overwhelmed by happiness. Then I explained to her the conditions in Sindh during the martial law, es­pecially in the last two years.

The preparations for Saira’s marriage took much of my time in early 1986. The marriage was solemnized on January 27. The mo­ment I was free, I received my posting orders as DIG Sargodha. The next morning I went to see the Chief Minister. I thanked him for my field posting and asked if there were any special instructions.
“No, there are no special instructions,” he said. “Try to be fair with the people and do justice. Sargodha is politically sensitive. Look after that as­pect.”
I proceeded to Sargodha and took over as DIG in place of Shahid Hasan, who was posted as DIG Rawalpindi. He had come to me as ASP un­der training in 1972 when I was SSP Rawalpindi.

Restoring self-respect. Sargodha, Khushab, Mianwali and Bhakkar were the four districts of the Sargodha range (division). Khushab and Bhak­kar had been carved out of Sargodha and Mianwali. So the range practically consisted of the old two districts. Navid Ah­san, younger brother of Izhar-ul-Haq, my friend and classmate, was the Commissioner. The old Deputy Commissioner House had become the Commissioner House when Sargodha Division was created. Bilqis had sweet memories of that house as she had lived there in the mid-1950s when her father was the Deputy Commissioner there. Mian Shafi wrote his famous Urdu book, 1857, while living in that house.
Mirza Muhammad Ali, SP Mianwali, kept the district under tight con­trol through his hard work. Mianwali borders with NWFP and is traversed by the meandering Indus river, with thick forests along the banks. These geographic factors provided sanctuaries to the criminals and easy passage for the smugglers of firearms and drugs. Muhammad Ali was on top of them, showing remarkable competence and commitment.
Muhammad Ashraf Marath, SP Bhakkar, impressed me with his inves­tigative talents. I came to know later that he was son of Ch. Saleh Muham­mad, a competent and well-known officer, who had re­tired as DSP.
Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan, SP Khushab, appeared elderly be­cause of his silvery hair. Before joining the police, he had served in the Forest De­partment. He was competent and upright but rigid in his outlook.
Maj. Laeeq Ahmad Khan was SP Sargodha. His army training and background helped him immensely in his police work.

Though my job was a light charge with no major administrative head­aches, I was faced with a serious but fairly common problem. While attend­ing to my normal duties, I found a large number of ap­peals against punish­ments pending since long. I started calling the ap­pellants and would hear them at length, asking about their family background, education and train­ing. Every one of them would natu­rally try to give his best image and I en­couraged them to do so. Then I returned most of the appeals for special re­ports from the district SPs on the present working and conduct of the appel­lants.
The district SPs did not warm up to my policy. To them I was being soft on punishments. But I wanted to give an opportunity for reformation to those who had lost self-respect. When I explained my thinking to them, the SPs agreed to join my efforts. In the next phase, I went to the districts, with sufficient notice, to check on the working of the appellants. In due course of time, they became among the most efficient, as their SPs told me. Far better results are possible if human dignity is kept in view while dealing with hu­man beings. However, the humane approach was applied only where ineffi­ciency or malingering was involved. In cases of corruption or any other criminal activities, I gave very harsh punishments, even enhancing the pen­alties imposed by the SPs.

A stitch in time. I stressed timely and meaningful supervision of the subordinate staff. I explained to my SPs and DSPs that lax super­vision provided the subordinates with opportunities for corruption and misuse of authority. There was no point in sleeping over the matter initially and then giving harsh punishments as injustice had al­ready been done to the people. So, prompt and proper supervision could save the police from slip­ping into lethargy and indifference and creating an atmosphere of injustice.
A good administrator should keep his eyes and ears open. With effi­cient administration, he can make the erring subordinates avoid brazen cor­ruption and injustice. An Inspector was investigating a murder case in which a wealthy goldsmith was the accused. I got in­formation that the gold­smith had dispatched by truck a cow of good breed to the house of the In­spector. I sent a letter to the SP concerned, giving all facts for immediate in­quiry, in­cluding the truck number and the name of the driver, as disclosed to me by an informer. The mo­ment the Inspector came to know of my letter with unde­niable specific evidence, he thought it better to get himself trans­ferred out of the Sar­godha range. The cow went back to the rightful owner and the new officer carried out the in­vestigation on merit. The word went round that the DIG would come to know of anything wrong that was done in the range by any officer!
If there was a controversial case or a party contested the fairness of in­vestigation, I would call both parties as well as the investiga­tor of the case and spend hours listening to them. During the discussion, the fact would come out very clearly and enable the same investigating officers to reach the correct conclusions.
The party that has a weak case tries to create confusion and does not like to face an open investigation. Instead, it likes the case to be transferred to an officer with little local knowledge or one who can be influenced or bribed. A sensible officer can outmaneuver it by making his inquiries, in­vestigations and activities open to the people, stick to truth and announce his conclusion on the spot. He should complete his work without delay to avoid pressures. Some delays are caused delib­erately by the officers for exploita­tion. In such cases, it is the duty of the senior supervisors to keep a vigilant eye instead of waiting until it is too late and then trying to stem the rot by harsh punishments.
After some time, my SPs were convinced that better timely information, effi­ciency, vigilant supervision and immediate attention to human matters would produce better results than belated frightening pun­ishments.

Bringing out the best. I paid special attention to training, par­ticularly the in-service training. I interviewed all ASIs under training in my range and asked them what they expected to learn at the thresh­old of their practical ca­reer, besides the prescribed course. They came up with useful and practical ideas. After pooling their suggestions, I issued orders that they should ac­tually work as Muharrirs and then as investigators and their case files would be scrutinized personally by the SHO of the police station and the district SP. I myself examined some of their files. I made them work on all kinds of problems so that they could get a feel of police work under vigilant eyes of their seniors.
I interviewed all Inspectors and most of the Sub-Inspectors in my range for their investigative skills and other professional expertise. After giving them sufficient notice, I would ask them to come well-prepared with the file of a difficult case that they thought had needed their best investigative skills. Thus, I tried to create in them an urge to improve their professional work and build up their pride in their per­formance. Issuing show cause notices, awarding deterrent punish­ments and keeping them under a constant terror would unnerve the subordinates and destroy their initiative. The subordi­nates need guid­ance and leadership to achieve the objectives of the organi­zation. They must not be driven like donkeys to a dead end.

During my interviews, I discovered Sub-Inspector Malik Sher Muham­mad, an officer of outstanding professional understanding and integrity. I studied the file of a murder case investigated by him. It was a case of a free-for-all fight between opposing groups during day­light in a street of their largish village. Sher Muhammad had prepared the site plan in such detail and with such accuracy, that one could draw the right inferences from it even with a cursory glance. He had re­corded all statements logically, for both the prosecution and the de­fence. (The police officers usually avoid the record­ing of the defence version as it might lead to allegations of corruption or un­due favour against them.)
He showed great self-confidence and sense of justice by recording truth­fully and elaborately the defence version of an 18-year-old boy, who had come running from his farm on hearing about the fight. He took out a lathi from his house but did not go further than the outer door of his house as the fight was already over by then. Sher Mu­hammad did not include his name in the accused list but put it in Col­umn No. 2, showing that he was not di­rectly involved (in legal terms “not in the first degree”). The other party did not like it but Sher Muhammad had conducted the investigation so thor­oughly and truthfully that his inference was upheld even by the highest court. He had the courage of his conviction, followed the path of justice, and did not fear any possible allegations.
His honest and skillful investigation ultimately showed the light of rea­son even to the feuding parties, who had lost dozens of their relatives over the years. They buried the hatchet at last, with Sher Muham­mad as their con­cilia­tor. I promoted him as Inspector and made his investigation a model for all others.

Whispers and intrigues. During her tour of the Punjab after her re­turn from London, Benazir Bhutto came to Sargodha in the second week of April 1986 at the head of a mammoth procession. The event passed without any incident. Jahangir Badar and Nazim Shah, PPP leaders and my old friends, came to thank me for good security meas­ures. The democratic gov­ernment had been wise in letting the pent-up feelings of PPP supporters flow out smoothly instead of bottling them up as was done by the martial law re­gime. The courageous gesture and statesmanship of the government won the applause of the people.
I spoke to a friend in a key position in Islamabad and compli­mented him for the sagacious policy. I was surprised to know that pal­ace intrigues against the fledgling democracy were already on and in­trigues were afoot to pit the President and the Punjab Chief Minister against each other. The President had been told that Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto had made a secret deal through Jahangir Badar. That was the reason the PPP pro­ces­sions were getting a soft treatment in the Punjab. Somebody also put in the ears of Gen. Zia that there was no blood feud between Nawaz Sharif and the Bhutto family and they could patch up any time. At the same time, there was a talk of a blood feud between the Bhuttos and the family of Ch. Zahoor Elahi, who was said to have been assassinated by Al-Zulfiqar zealots. Presi­dent Zia was also told that Prime Minister Junejo was a Sindhi and he would have no difficulty in coming to an understanding with Benazir, an­other Sindhi.
The whispering campaign did seem to have some influence. While Junejo was being ridiculed for taking credit for the ending of martial law, President Zia was feeling threatened, though unnecessarily. Zia had felt cut up right from the beginning when Khwaja Safdar, in spite of clear indica­tion of the President’s wish, was not elected as the Speaker of the Na­tional As­sembly.
No doubt, that jolt gave birth to the formation of the Muslim League but the General lost faith in Parliament as he might not be able to manipu­late it whenever required. The Prime Minister and his ruling party had to steer between the overbearing and possessive President and the idealistic but problematic opposition within Parliament. The street opposition of the MRD, particularly the PPP, was also threaten­ing. It looked like walking on a tight rope and everything depended on law and order. In that backdrop, Junejo and Nawaz Sharif succeeded by adopting a bold and democratic method in handling the opposition in a civilized manner but evoked intense jealousy in the chambers of power. The emerging scenario did cause anxiety but that was part of the game, the dirty game of power.

Enter Qutab Din, the astrologer. During my brief posting at Sar­godha, I met Babu Qutab Din, a very interesting old man. He came to see me in my office and told me that he was originally from the same area in India from which I had migrated. Besides the natural af­finity, I liked him as a nice human being. Surprisingly, in view of his simple rustic appearance, he spoke very correct English. He explained that he had joined the Central Gov­ernment Secretariat in New Delhi as a clerk after passing his Matricula­tion Examination in 1932 and had worked with leaders like Patel, Nehru, Shah­nawaz Bhutto and even, briefly, with the Quaid-i-Azam. The maximum time he spent was with Vallabh Bhai Patel, the strongman of the Congress gov­ernment after independence. He would tell me many interesting stories about the leading figures of that period.
His real talent remained hidden until one day Haq Nawaz Ki­yani, DC Mianwali, saw him with me at a lunch. Kiyani asked me, “Since how long do you know this man?”
“I met him only a few days ago,” I replied.
Kiyani smiled, “Qutab Din is a great astrologer!”
“I do not believe in such things,” I told him, “nor has he talked on this subject.”
Kiyani told me that he had a personal experience of Qutab Din’s ex­pertise. They met about two decades ago at the residence of Mr Justice M.R. Kiyani, who died as the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court. Qutab Din predicted many things about Haq Nawaz. He did not believe Babu then but later everything turned out to be just as predicted by him.

To an elevated position. I did not like to confront Babu Qutab Din at the lunch but later, at my residence, asked him whether he was a scholar of astrology. The self-effacing man did not admit it. When I narrated what Haq Nawaz Kiyani had told me about him, he admitted only grudgingly that he had learnt “a little about the subject.” He later predicted accurately some im­portant events of our history but more about it later. What was of imme­diate interest was that he predicted my transfer from Sargodha “shortly.”
“But, Babu-ji, I have to complete my two years in a range,” I pro­tested. “Otherwise, I cannot be promoted. Please don’t let me be trans­ferred.”
“Well, I can’t do anything,” he replied seriously. “That is my reading. You will go on an elevated position. Next year is your promotion year.”
After about a month or so, he came to see me at my residence on a Fri­day morning. I was chatting with my friend Manzoor Bhatti.
Babu-ji asked me, “Why have you not packed up to go to La­hore.” It was about 10 a.m. on June 13, 1986.
“Packing is no problem but how can I go without any orders?” I pro­tested.
“According to my calculations, you will have to go by this eve­ning,” he said. “You will get your orders.”
“I’ll proceed and Bhatti can bring my luggage,” I said. “But, Ba­bu-ji, I don’t have much faith in astrology.”
He was quite confident and insisted that his prediction would come true. While I did not pro­fess any faith in his astrology, in my heart of hearts, I was wonder­ing how he could be so sure. Nawaz Sharif had al­ready in­terviewed me for the post of Additional IGP, Special Branch, Punjab, but until then I had not told any­body at all. Babu could have learnt from somewhere but that was not pos­sible as even the IGP was not aware of my interview and the likely posting.
The same evening, I received an urgent phone call at 5 p.m. from my friend, Haji Muhammad Akram, who had become the Home Secretary by then, informing me that I had been posted as Acting Additional IGP, Special Branch, and was required to take over the charge during the night! Babu Qutab Din was still there. There was a twinkle in his eyes and a smile of tri­umph on his face when I broke the news to him. Not having followed his advice by then, the packing and winding up of other matters had to be left with Manzoor Bhatti while I drove off for Lahore immediately.