GUJRANWALA, Jan 24: The Election Commission of Pakistan withdrew the powers of acting district returning officer (DRO) from an additional district and sessions judge shortly before he was to announce verdict he had reserved on petitions challenging transfers in the police department, Dawn learnt on Thursday.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Nazir Ahmad Ganjana was acting as DRO in the absence of former district and sessions judge Mazhar Husain Minhas, after he proceeded for Saudi Arabia to perform Haj.

Minhas was later elevated as judge of the Lahore High Court and after returning from Saudi Arabia, he assumed his new responsibilities and Arshad Mehmood Cheema was appointed Gujranwala’s district and sessions judge.

Though Cheema had assumed the charge around two weeks ago, Ganjana continued performing his duties as acting-DRO.

Beside others, PML-N and PPP candidates for NA-99, Rana Nazir Ahmad and Chaudhry Abdullah Virk, had moved the DRO against transfers in the police department allegedly made on political grounds.

They alleged that PML-Q aspirant and former provincial minister Rana Shamshad Ahmad Khan had got posted Kamoki Sadar, Wahando, Ferozewala and Eimanabad station house officers (SHOs), who were pressing the people to favour PML-Q candidates in the upcoming general election.

The petitioners also alleged that the SHOs were registering fake cases against their party workers just to harass them, terming the whole episode a “pre-polls rigging”.

The acting-DRO summoned the respondents and the police officials concerned. The police officers submitted that the transfers were made in public interest subject to approval of the Election Commission and a summary had been sent to the commission in this connection.

After hearing the parties at length, Ganjana reserved his verdict for Thursday, but hours before he was to deliver it, his powers of DRO were withdrawn by the ECP and given to incumbent District and Sessions Judge Arshad Mahmood Cheema.

Though it seems a routine procedure as district and sessions judges are normally appointed DROs, political analysts say the move is again “politically motivated” just to prevent Ganjana from announcing his verdict.

They say withdrawing powers from an officer shortly before he was to deliver his verdict will, in fact, render the whole proceedings ineffective as the new officer is obliged to hear the whole case afresh before determining his verdict. — Correspondent