IG transfer: SC seeks reply from Swati under Article 62 (1) (f)

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was informed on Thursday that Federal Minister Azam Swati was found guilty of misusing authority and mistreating a family that resides near his residence for trespassing.

The revelation was part of a report submitted by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the ‘illegal’ transfer of former Islamabad police chief after he did not attend Swati’s phone call.

The JIT had been formed by the top court after taking suo motu notice of former Islamabad Police Inspector General Jan Muhammad’s transfer from the capital. The JIT comprises the Intelligence Bureau’s (IB) Ahmad Rizwan, Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Mir Vaiz Niaz and a director general from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

During the hearing, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar read the investigation team’s conclusion terming Swati’s stance “false and fabricated”. The JIT added the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader had also wielded his influence on the police to pressurise the family which resides in a slum near his residence.

Directing Swati to explain his position keeping in view Article 62 (1) (f) of the Constitution, the top judge wondered whether he deserved to be a minister.

The three-member bench gave Swati till Tuesday [December 2] to submit his reply. Meanwhile, the federal minister’s counsel Ali Zafar termed the JIT report as “one-sided”.

IGP Muhammad, a basic pay scale (BPS) grade 20 officer of the Police Services of Pakistan (PSP) had been directed to report to the Establishment Division on October 27. The officer was transferred apparently following a verbal order from Prime Minister Imran Khan who was allegedly pushed into making the move following complaints from Swati.

The PTI leader was apparently calling the IGP so that he could have a case registered against people living around his farmhouse. Swati had claimed that some men from the nearby slums had trespassed over his property and were getting into altercations with their staff.

As soon as Muhammad was removed as IGP, a case for the matter was registered at the Secretariat police station on the complaint of Swati’s son. The accused were arrested and sent to Adiala jail.

Source: The Express Tribune