ISLAMABAD – Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and former IG Punjab Kaleem Imam tendered an unconditional apology in the Supreme Court during the hearing of ex-DPO Pakpattan Rizwan Gondal’s transfer case.
The chief minister arrived in the apex court after Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar ordered him to appear while hearing the suo motu case of the transfer of the police officer following an alleged altercation with Khawar Maneka, a customs officer and the former husband of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra.
As the hearing underway, the chief justice asked Buzdar: “Are you using your powers to intervene in police affairs?”
The chief minister denied exerting any political pressure on police to transfer Gondal, adding that he had asked the regional police officer (RPO) to amicably resolve the issue.
Ahsan Jameel Gujjar, who is accused of approaching the chief minister for transferring the DPO, also appeared in the court and tendered an apology.
The top judge also ordered senior police officer Khalid Lak to conduct an investigation into the matter and submit a report within 15 days.
Earlier today, the top judge also rejected an inquiry report submitted by former IG Punjab Kaleem Imam, who has now been appointed as IGP in Sindh, on the matter on September 12.
In the report, the IG has not held anyone responsible, besides stating that probing CM Buzdar’s interference in the matter was beyond the scoop of the inquiry.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/dpo-pakpattan-transferred-after-refusing-to-apologize-to-khawar-maneka/
The chief justice remarked that the IG had declared both police officials liars in order to save one person. How dare Ahsan Gujjar asked the IG to transfer the DPO, remarked the Chief Justice.
The Punjab police chief denied issuing transfer orders, adding that he was just regretful over what happened to the girl.
Expressing anger over the former IG Punjab, the chief justice remarked: You have been asked to probe political interferences but you have broken our trust”.
The chief asked whey he did not bar police officials from meeting the Punjab chief minister, to which, Imam said he was in Islamabad when he learned about the incident.
The chief justice remarked, “You were in Islamabad, not in the foreign country.”
Later, the former IG Punjab also filed an unconditional apology in the case.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/police-should-not-bend-to-political-pressure-remarks-cjp-nisar-in-dpo-pakpattan-case/
At the last hearing, the apex court had ordered two separate inquiries into the matter pertaining to transfer of Pakpattan District Police Officer (DPO) Rizwan Gondal over alleged political pressure.
The court had appointed IG Punjab to prove the political interference in the police affairs while the second investigation was about the alleged misbehave of police officers with Mubashira Maneka, who had accused the officials of manhandling when she was going to a shrine by walk during last month.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/cjp-nisar-takes-suo-moto-notice-of-dpo-pakpattan-transfer-issue/
On August 30, the chief justice took suo motu notice of the transfer after reportedly on the orders of the former husband of Bushra Imran.
