The Supreme Court on Monday summoned Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar in a case pertaining to the transfer of former Pakpattan District Police Officer (DPO) Rizwan Gondal.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar is hearing a suo motu notice of the former DPO's transfer following an alleged altercation with Khawar Maneka — the former husband of Prime Minister Imran Khan's wife.
Rejecting a report submitted by former Punjab IG Kaleem Imam, Justice Nisar summoned the Punjab Chief Minister, secretary establishment and Ahsan Iqbal Jamil at 2 pm today.
The Chief Justice also directed senior police officer Khalid Lak to inquire into the transfer of the former Pakpattan DPO.
In his report submitted to the SC on September 12, the former Punjab IG stated that Punjab CM Buzdar's intervention in the case was beyond the scope of the inquiry. The report did not hold anyone responsible for the transfer of Gondal.
Expressing anger at the former Punjab IG, the Chief Justice said, "We had faith in you and that's why we directed you to prepare an inquiry report into the incident but you did it with ill intentions. If I write it, then you will not be able to serve in police any longer."
Justice Nisar continued, "We trusted you to inquire into the political intervention in the case but you broke our trust."
The Chief Justice further questioned Imam, "What investigation did you conduct? The statements of the regional police officer and the DPO do not match."
"Why didn't you stop the police officers from meeting the Punjab CM?" he asked.
In response, Imam said that when he found out about the incident he was in Islamabad. However, the Chief Justice remarked, "You were in Islamabad, not in another country."
"The Punjab CM watched police officers get reprimanded in front of him. Call Buzdar," he added.
The hearing of the case was then adjourned till 2pm today.
Earlier, in previous month, reports of Gondal's transfer sparked controversy as speculation suggested that the police officer was transferred because of the August 23 altercation between police and Khawar Maneka.
According to reports, police personnel under Gondal’s watch tried to stop Maneka at a checkpoint for speeding but he did not stop. The police then chased his vehicle and managed to intercept him.
Then Punjab IGP, Imam, soon after the reports, denied that Gondal was transferred under any pressure and said it was done due to his giving misleading statements about misbehaviour by police personnel with a citizen.