ISLAMABAD: Taking exception to the transfer of the capital city police chief, the Supreme Court on Monday suspended the government order for removal of Inspector General of Police Jan Mohammad.

A three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, also dropped hints at constituting a fact-finding committee to ascertain the cause of the sudden transfer of the police chief amid conflicting reports about federal Minister for Science and Technology Azam Swati being behind the move.

According to a notification issued by the establishment division on Saturday, retired lieutenant Jan Mohammad, a BS-20 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), serving as the IGP Islamabad under the interior division, was transferred and directed to report to the Establishment Division with immediate effect and until further orders.

The chief justice took suo motu notice of the sudden transfer of the police chief in the wake of reports about the federal minister’s suspected role in it due to some petty issue with the police officer.

Establishment secretary says capital police chief was transferred on PM’s verbal order

The apex court expressed surprise when Establishment Secretary Ejaz Munir furnished a summary about the transfer. Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan read out the summary, which stated: “In compliance with the verbal orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Jan Mohammad has been transferred.”

“Is this Naya Pakistan you people are building?” the chief justice regretted while pointing towards Attorney General Anwar Mansoor who assured the court that he would talk to the prime minister ‘personally’.

There should not be another Usman Buzdar (a reference to the Pakpattan district police officer’s transfer by the Punjab chief minister) and mind it the chief minister himself had to appear before the court when summoned, the chief justice reminded the attorney general.

The chief justice said Pakistan would be run in accordance with law and not on a forced command or someone’s dictation or whims.

“His transfer was in the offing for quite some time due to his poor response to events,” claimed the establishment secretary when the chief justice asked him what prompted the police chief’s sudden transfer.

“Do you enjoy such enormous powers to transfer the officer just like that?” the chief justice remarked, adding why not the secretary himself should be transferred.

Justice Nisar asked why the secretary failed to apply his independent mind instead of blindly following the PM’s dictation especially when only the interior secretary was authorised to transfer the IG as the entire affairs of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) came under his purview.

The establishment secretary, however, argued that Prime Minister Imran Khan was the competent authority in such matters.

Justice Ahsan wondered why the minister’s personal complaint was not considered before transferring the officer on personal whims.

If the officer was really incompetent, then he should have been issued a show cause notice before his removal from job instead of posting him out, observed another member of the SC bench, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah.

“This is just a lame excuse to cover up and resonates with the identical case when a senior police officer was transferred in the middle of the night on administrative exigencies,” regretted Justice Ahsan in an obvious reference to the Pakpattan case.

“What message do you want to give that anyone will be transferred if they resist illegal orders?” Justice Ahsan remarked.

He asked for reason of the urgency to move the summary for the officer’s transfer when one could have explained the entire situation to the prime minister. “This is pathetic,” Justice Ahsan remarked.

The chief justice observed that the court was suspending the transfer order, also asking the secretary establishment to furnish a concise statement before the court.

He regretted that the summary of the IG’s transfer was not in accordance with the law and perhaps issued on the dictation of high-ups and transferred by the secretary who had no role in the affairs of ICT.

“The court needs to understand whether the IG was transferred with bona fide intention or by using colourable exercise of the jurisdiction,” the chief justice dictated in his orders while suspending the transfer orders.

“Let truth be told,” Justice Ahsan observed.

Fact-finding committee

The chief justice also asked the secretary to give an affidavit and the court would see whether a fact-finding committee be constituted on the issue.

The secretary should have refused to comply with verbal orders, the chief justice regretted especially in view of some issue between Minister Swati and the Islamabad police chief. The establishment secretary claimed he had no idea about the issue between Mr Swati and the IG.

Earlier in the morning, the chief justice had summoned the interior secretary to explain about the transfer with an observation that the court would not allow the institution of judiciary to be compromised because of some senator, minister or his son.

“The court will not tolerate such political transfers,” the chief justice said.

When the secretary interior finally appeared before the court, the transfer matter was being handled by the establishment secretary. However, the interior secretary did concede that the Islamabad police fell under his ministry.

The court will resume the proceedings again on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2018