Have the Sindh police overnight acquired a hitherto undetected sense of independence that years of political meddling had neutralised? Or perhaps someone with more clout than even the PPP in Sindh had ordered Mr Wazir’s arrest. Whatever the facts of the matter, it is an inexplicable turn of events. And where there is lack of clarity, speculation and rumour-mongering have a field day. Thus there have been unsubstantiated reports doing the rounds that Mr Wazir was being subjected to torture in custody. What is beyond doubt, however, is the truth of Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s words. Arrests of the people’s elected representatives engender a sense of persecution, especially among those who count themselves as that individual’s constituents. Certainly there is no room for hate speech or incitement to violence, and sometimes a very thin line separates it from genuine grievances voiced intemperately, but disaffection with the state can lead to grave and long-term consequences.

Dawn

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