[DAWN] NEWSPAPERS have reported that the DG Rangers has admitted that Aftab Ahmed was tortured in jug. The Sindh Rangers have suspended the personnel accused of being involved in the incident and an inquiry has been ordered.The Rangers had initially said that Aftab Ahmed had died of a heart attack. Later, when pictures of Aftab Ahmed’s badly battered body started making the rounds, the DG Rangers admitted to torture but is reported to have said that Aftab Ahmed died of a heart attack. The post-mortem report might clarify the issue. It might indeed be the case that Aftab Ahmed’s heart gave out. But this could very well have been due to the stress his body was put under during the torture he underwent.
The DG Rangers also said that involved personnel had overstepped the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and this would be looked into during the inquiry.
There are larger questions that the death of Aftab Ahmed raises. This is not the first time a person has died in the custody of law-enforcement agencies and it is not the first time evidence of torture has come to light. Incidents of torture in cop shoppes are regularly reported. Cases have also been documented against other law-enforcement and security forces including the army and the intelligence agencies of the country. It is hard to believe law-enforcement agencies when they say that torture is not SOP for them.