Former CM Buzdar seeks details of FIRs, inquiries against him

LHC summons Usman Buzdar on April 17 in response to his writ petition seeking details of cases and inquiries

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court's Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh has summoned former Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar by April 17 in response to his petition seeking details of any cases and inquiries against him.

In the writ petition, Buzdar has requested the Director General of the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment, his subordinates, and all directorates to refrain from taking any coercive measures, apprehending, harassing, or arresting him until the petition is disposed of.

During proceedings on Thursday, Buzdar's counsel informed the court that false FIRs had been filed against his client. The court asked for Buzdar's whereabouts, to which the counsel replied that he had been suffering from health issues but intends to approach the court.

However, the counsel requested more time for his client to appear before the court.

In his petition, Buzdar contended that he was nominated by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and elected as chief minister in August 2018. He stated that he resigned from the CM's office following political chaos in the province, following which the Punjab Assembly was subsequently dissolved and a caretaker setup sworn in.

Also read: Buzdar skips ACE, court proceedings, gets 14-day bail extension due to Covid

He claimed that during the same time, through a “regime change” conspiracy, the PTI federal government was toppled, and a new government was forming comprising of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in coalition with the PDM. As a result of this, the federal government along with the Punjab caretaker administration started using government agencies, institutions, and departments to register frivolous FIRs against various PTI political leaders and workers.

The former chief minister expressed apprehension that anti-corruption department officials would also register revengeful and politically motivated cases against him.

Earlier, Buzdar had requested ACE to provide details of any pending complaints, inquiries, and FIRs registered against him. When the ACE failed to provide him with the necessary details, Buzdar filed a writ petition in court. on March 28, the anti-corruption department submitted a report disclosing ten pending complaints and inquiries against Buzdar in the Dera Ghazi Khan region. The report did not contain any other details or copies of FIRs.

The DG Anti-Corruption then issued a notice to Buzdar for two inquiries but did not provide him with any further details.

Buzdar requested the respondent to grant him sufficient time for recovery from COVID, but no further notices were issued for his personal appearance. He accused the respondents of creating hindrances and obstructions for him and falsely registering complaints against him to stop him from contesting the upcoming elections in Punjab.