The Supreme Court, while hearing a suo motu case pertaining to the transfer of the District Police Officer (DPO) Pakpattan, rejected a report submitted by the former Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed Kaleem Imam.
IGP Imam had submitted a report with regards to the Pakpattan DPO transfer case on Sept 12 in which he had said that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar was only acting as a mediator and did not attempt to influence the police amidst the Pakpattan controversy that eventually led to the transfer of DPO Rizwan Gondal.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, who is heading a three-judge bench, lashed out at IGP Imam, today, saying that he had written positive things in his report “in order to save one person”, without specifying who that one person was.
“We reject your report,” the top judge said, adding: “IGP sahab, you have proven your own officer to be a liar in your report.”
“What kind of report is this? You have not investigated at all. You have sided with someone,” the CJP said. “You did nothing to uphold the respect of the police in your report.”
“You are not worthy of serving anywhere in this country,” the CJP said. “We will summon the secretary establishment in this regard and he will tell us.”
Imam, who was recently transferred to the post of Sindh police chief, replied: “My lord, I leave myself to the mercy of the court.”
“We were hoping to get justice from you and you are asking us for forgiveness,” the CJP responded.
The CJP asked the IGP if he had made the report himself, to which Imam responded in the affirmative. He explained that a committee had been set up to investigate the matter. He said that there were four individuals in the committee that night, including the Pakpattan DPO, Regional Police Officer Hassan Jameel Gujjar, and CM Punjab Usman Buzdar.
The CJP asked the IG Sindh what conversation had taken place between these individuals. “We are not concerned about other things,” he said.
The court summoned Buzdar to court.
The additional advocate of Punjab told the court that the CM Punjab had been contacted and he would be present under all circumstances. He added that the time of the CM’s arrival would be confirmed and the court would be informed.
In an earlier hearing of the suo-moto case, the CJP had said that the court wants the police to be “free and empowered” and it did not “sit well” that the CM of Punjab or someone “sitting with him” ─ a reference to Ahsan Jameel Gujjar, an influential person close to the Maneka family ─ was responsible for the officer’s transfer.
Gujjar and Buzdar had reportedly summoned DPO Gondal to the CM’s office for an explanation of the events in Pakpattan shortly before the officer was transferred from his posting.
In today’s hearing, the CJP asked where Gujjar was, as the court had summoned him for today’s hearing.
Addressing the IGP the top judge said, “You keep talking about Gujjar’s guardian certificate. Have you seen the certificate?”
Justice Nisar told IGP Imam that he was the kind of police officer who could not even ensure Gujjar’s presence in court.
“We are the ones who have to clear him,” the CJP remarked.
The top judge said that everyone was upset with the treatment of Maneka’s daughter. “But did you get upset with the treatment of police officials? What kind of an IG are you, that you cannot protect the police?” he asked.
Late on August 23 or early August 24, Khawar Maneka was flagged to stop at a security picket in Pakpattan by police, but he allegedly refused and raced ahead. The police had subsequently chased him down and forced him to stop, after which harsh words were exchanged between the two parties.
Subsequently, Maneka demanded that DPO Rizwan Gondal should visit his dera to personally apologise to him, he added. When Gondal’s transfer orders started making rounds on Monday, it was widely speculated in news and social media that that the police officer was transferred because of the incident. The officer was allegedly transferred for refusing to apologise in person to Khawar Maneka over the altercation between him and the police.
The report submitted by IG Kaleem Imam in court last week stated that the chief minister had indeed summoned the police officials concerned without informing the IGP, but proceeded to act “only as an elder” to mediate between the parties in conflict.
The CM was very hospitable towards the police officers and during the meeting, which he “hosted”, the report states, the policemen were not harassed or pressurised in any way.
Imam, in his report, further observed that the Punjab CM neither issued any written orders or gave any directives pertaining to the DPO’s transfer. Instead, the report said, Buzdar had told the RPO to settle the issue himself, which “makes it clear that there was no interference in policing matters”.
However, the report noted that DPO Gondal had felt that he was being “interrogated by a stranger” in the presence of the RPO and the CM during the meeting. The report recommended that, in the future, Punjab CM go through the provincial IGP to summon any police officials instead of doing so directly.
The report stated that while the DPO was displeased with being called to the CM’s officer he hadn’t complained about being harassed or pressurised during the meeting.
