LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan will hear on Thursday (today) a writ petition by an opposition parliamentarian challenging the premature transfers of the Punjab inspector general of police and Lahore capital city police officer.

“The subject matter of this petition is unconstitutional and illegal removal of provincial police officer, lack of implementation of the Police Order, 2002 and the illegal and mala fide actions of the federal government and removing IGP Shoaib Dastagir and CCPO Zulfiqar Hameed,” PML-N MPA Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, also an advocate, states in his petition filed through Advocate Usama Khawar Ghumman.

The chief justice would take up the petition as an “objection case” since the registrar office put an objection to the locus standi of the petitioner.

The petition contends the pre-mature transfers are in violation of the Police Order, 2002 which guarantee a tenure of three years, the Punjab government rules of business 2011, which secure a tenure of three years for IGP, and the judgments of the Supreme Court particularly in cases of Anita Turab and A.D. Khwaja, which restrain the governments from arbitrary transfer and removal of civil servants.

It says the frequent arbitrary and premature transfers of senior police officials in Punjab have become a norm as six IGPs have been appointed by the government in the last two years. Similarly, three CCPOs have also been appointed in the same period of time.

The petition argues that a malfunctioning executive, which primarily relies on a police force for enforcement of laws, cannot effectively ensure the guarantees secured by the Constitution.

The Police Order empowers the IGP to give binding recommendation to the provincial government for appointing CCPO-Lahore. The government committed illegality by appointing Umar Sheikh as CCPO-Lahore against the recommendations of IGP and by later on transferring the IGP without following the law.

The petition argues the Sindh High Court in 2017 in a similar matter struck down the premature transfer of IGP A.D. Khwaja. It says Prime Minister Imran Khan and Central Vice President of PTI Haleem Adil Sheikh had then criticised premature and frequent transfers of IGPs in Sindh.

The SC has on numerous occasions stressed the need to reform the criminal justice system and emphasised on police reforms and need to implement the Police Order 2002.

It states the courts of law cannot ensure fair trial and expeditious justice if the police force does not perform its part of the job as investigation of a crime is the police‘s responsibility.

The petitioner further pleads that the manner of removal and appointment of the IGPs is in violation of a famous SC’s judgment in Mustafa Impex case.

It argues that according to the Police Order the decision to remove and appoint IGPs is to be exercised by the provincial and federal governments.

And in light of the Mustafa Impex judgment, a government means the chief minister or the prime minister, as the case may be, and his cabinet. Neither former IGP Dastagir was removed by the cabinet nor his replacement Inam Ghani was appointed by the provincial and federal cabinets.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2020