Blatant interference : Political clout weighs heavy on Punjab Police’s investigations

A majority of requests to transfer on-going inquiries come from influential individuals

LAHORE:

The frequent transfers in the ranks of Punjab Police and the political tug of war has resulted in a distrust in the investigations carried out by the police force but only the political elite seem to be able to navigate around it.

Even though anyone can request a change in investigation in cases where they are either the complainant or the accused, provided they have sufficient cause; for the past two years a majority of these requests have come from Punjab’s political elite - and that too directly to the Inspector General (IG) of the Punjab Police.

As per records obtained by The Express Tribune, in the past two years the IG Office’s Inquiry Wing received investigation transfer requests, due to a lack of trust in the system, in more than 1,400 cases - out of which investigations in around 1,200 cases have been transferred by the IG’s Office so far. It is pertinent to mention that police sources privy to the matter informed The Express Tribune that most of these requests were accepted because they either came from MNAs, MPAs of Punjab, Senators, or other influential individuals.

When asked about this blatant misuse of power, former additional IG investigations of Punjab, Salahuddin Ahmed Khan Niazi, replied that this was nothing new for Punjab. “I would say 75 per cent of the investigations that are transferred from a district or region are due to political interference. Only a minimal amount of transfers are due to routine applications or court orders,” he informed.

Mian Zeeshan Hanif Bhinder, a criminal law practitioner in Lahore, concurring with Niazi, said that it was due to these frequent transfer requests that criminal cases in the province never conclude. “Complainants and accused use their political clout to transfer investigations until they can get their desired result. Consequently, the trial is prolonged because the challan is never submitted in court and no one gets justice for years.”

The only way to end this influence that the political elite have over the police’s investigative system is for the police to take a stand on the merits of the case, according to Ahsan Bhoon, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). “Firstly the police should stop registering cases solely on political grounds, so that they do not have to be transferred later. Secondly, the police should take a stand and not cave to any sort of external influence,” suggested Bhoon.

However, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Crimes of the Punjab Police, Maqsood-ul-Hasan, said that the process of transferring investigations was not so simple that it could easily be manipulated by anyone in power. “There are three layers of the transfer request system. The District Police Officer, who is supervised by a Board, is granted the authority to conduct an initial investigation following the registration of a case at the police station level. Second, the Regional Police Officer has been granted the right to modify the investigation, which is also overseen by a Board. Only when these two options have been exhausted, the Additional IG Investigation will modify an investigation and that too after the IG has directed him to do so.”

Despite Hasan’s assurances, The Express Tribune contacted the IG Office to inquire about the political elite making transfer requests directly to the IG. “Since the IG is the head of the provincial police force, it is obvious that political, social, and other personalities will come directly to him to point out flaws in the investigation of their cases,” replied the Spokesperson of the IG’s Office in response to The Express Tribune’s inquiry.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2023.