CM to file review petition against removal of Sindh IG

The apex court made a judgment based on a one-sided version of details, he claims.

KARACHI:

Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has made it amply clear that he isn’t at all happy with the decision to send the Sindh IG packing over the law enforcers’ response to the Abbas Town blast. 

At the hearing of the suo motu case on Wednesday, the Supreme Court had raked the law enforcers, including IG Fayyaz Leghari, over the coals for their ‘dismal’ response to the explosion. Following its castigation of the police, the Sindh government issued a notification placing Leghari and DIG East Aleem Jafri at the disposal of the federal government. DSP Sohrab Goth Qamar Ahmed and SHO Sacchal police station Azhar Iqbal were suspended.

At the Sindh Assembly session on Thursday, the chief minister said that the Chief Justice of Pakistan had only heard one side of the story and made a very hasty decision. “It seems as if the apex court had already made up its mind before the hearing. It should have heard our plea, but this did not happen,” he said. “We have now decided to appeal against the decision. It will be the court’s prerogative to either maintain or dismiss our review petition.”

The chief minister also refuted allegations that he had chosen to stay at Pakistan Peoples Party leader Sharmila Farooqi’s dinner even after the blast. “When the blast happened, I was not present at her engagement dinner - I was in a meeting at Chief Minister House,” he said. “Her dinner was scheduled to start at 9pm and the blast took place at around 7pm. Why would I be at Mohatta palace two hours before the event?”

Shah, who also holds the portfolio of the home department, claimed that the only reason that government officials weren’t in Abbas Town immediately after the incident was because unidentified men had put up barricades on the roads leading to the blast site. “The men not only stopped PPP leaders from visiting the area, but also created hurdles for law enforcers,” he said. “They shot at two law enforcers and threatened the police and Rangers to leave the area.”

Shah said that some TV channels had misled people into believing that the government and law enforcers were callous to the blast victims’ pain. “It is very unfortunate that our court is also referring to the channels’ reports.”

The chief minister said that he was informed about the incident at around 7:20 pm and he had ordered the IG to rush to the spot. Leghari reached the blast site at around 7:40pm, but enraged people didn’t allow him to enter the neighbourhood. “The court said that he had gone there after four hours, but he had actually reached the site in 20 minutes.” When a DSP and sub-inspector tried to force their way into the area, the mob attacked them. “They were discharged from the hospital on Thursday, but the media ignored this.”

‘Culprits of Abbas Town tragedy have confessed’

The chief minister told the legislators that law enforcers have arrested suspects linked with the Abbas Town blast. “It would be premature to disclose the findings, but I will reveal the initial findings of the case during the provincial government’s five-year performance report being presented in the next session.”

Govt releases funds for blast survivors

Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said that government has released funds to provide compensation to Abbas Town blast survivors. He said that records are being retrieved from hospitals to identify those who deserve compensation, adding that a committee comprising the representatives of the area and the government has been constituted.

After the assembly proceedings had been winded up, a photo session of the legislators was held and a certificate distribution ceremony was organised at main entrance of the building. The session will continue today.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2013.