LHC seeks reply on maintainability of PML-N plea

Lahore High Court’s Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan has sought legal assistance from federal and provincial governments’ lawyers about the maintainability of a petition against the recent transfer and posting of top officers of Punjab Police.

The LHC Registrar Office raised objection on the petition, stating that the petitioner was not an affected party. As the proceedings commenced, the CJ asked the petitioner, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Malik Muhammad Ahmed, to satisfy the court how the petition was maintainable and how he was affected by the matter.

Advocate Malik Muhammad Ahmed implored the court that the inspector general of police (IGP) could not be appointed without constituting the Public Safety Commission.

The CJ wondered if an officer who had said in the court that he could not get every law implemented command the police.

The federal and provincial governments’ lawyers seconded the objections raised by the registrar office and requested the court to dismiss the petition as not maintainable.

The CJ adjourned the proceedings till Monday.

Police drivers approach LHC for promotion

The PML-N had challenged the transfers and appointments of top police officers, claiming that the Punjab government had failed to implement the Police Order 2002 in letter and spirit.

The petitioner alleged that the Punjab government had politicised the police and had shown the door to independent-minded officers without any regard to their independence and tenure protected by the law.

He challenged the federal government’s decision of removing former IGP Shoaib Dastgir from the post and appointing Inam Ghani in his place. He also challenged the appointment of Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Umar Sheikh.

The government had replaced five IGPs in two years and their average tenure had been about four months, he contended.

The petitioner stated that no officer had been allowed to complete his tenure of three years. He prayed that the notifications through which former IGP Dastgir and CCPO Zulifqar Hameed were transferred be declared void.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2020.