In Pakistan, being critical of the country’s omnipotent army is indeed a very dangerous thing as it can invite serious repercussions ranging from being mercilessly belaboured to being abducted and in some cases even losing one’s life. Rawalpindi’s acute intolerance to criticism, even when it’s constructive in nature, is no secret and the military is particularly offended when someone exposes its cavalier ways and abuse of power without any accountability. So, incidents of people who have dared to antagonise those in khakis being roughed up or abducted by unknown persons aren’t uncommon.

However, despite being well-aware about the law and having a fair idea of who the assailants are, seldom do the victims who dared to criticise the Pakistan army disclose the identity of their attackers/ kidnappers and very rarely file police complaints. And leave alone preventing such incidents the police are not even able to apprehend those brazenly carrying out these illegal acts, even when they take place in the heart of major cities and that too in broad daylight.

Islamabad claims to be having an exceptionally efficient intelligence and investigative setup with exceptional professional skills. After every major terrorist attack, these agencies come up with a blow by blow account of how these were planned behind closed doors in its neighbouring countries, by not only Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing [RAW] but also the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP] terrorist group.

Yet, Pakistan’s premier intelligence and investigating agencies inexplicably make no headway when it comes to tracking down those who brutalise or abduct critics of the Pakistan army. This is even in cases wherein courageous victims give enough indications that clearly reveals who had whisked them away, and when irrefutable evidence in terms of video recordings of the incident exists. A few incidents that prove this observation:

· On September 4, 2010, journalist Umar Cheema who had written several articles that were critical of the Pakistan army in The News was abducted in Islamabad. Taken to an........

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