The 1992 operation was launched primarily to apprehend gangs of criminals, dacoits and thugs in the interior Sindh. It later got diverted to Karachi and Hyderabad due to a major incident that needs to be retold to those who don't know. In the first stage of that operation, the Pakistan Army set a precedent of accountability when an officer commanding the operation in Sanghar, Major Arshad, killed six innocent citizens. Then, Defence Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani publicly admitted that those killed were innocent. When the military authorities conducted the inquiry, the Major was found guilty. The Army, thus, had to publicly apologize. It did so, removed the GOC and held a court martial trial at the end of which, Major Arshad was hanged to death in 1997. An Army that sets such high standards of discipline cannot be held responsible for launching an operation without reason or without orders of the sitting government. The Army follows orders of the Prime Minister or their Supreme Commander, the President. Even constitutionally speaking, no operation can be launched without approval of the Prime Minister. -SAMINA MALLAH, Karachi, via e-mail, August 25.