KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) has suspended the notification of removing Allah Dino Khawaja from the position of Sindh Police IG and has ordered to immediately reinstate him on his position till the next hearing, which will be held on 6th April.
The court has issued notices to Sindh Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, Acting IGP Sindh Sardar Abdul Hameed Dasti and others and directed them to submit a reply till 6th April. The court has also said that apparently, there is no need of further restraining order.
A two-member bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Muneeb Akhtar and comprising of Justice Arshad Hussain Khan, listened to the contempt of court petition filed by Karamat Ali. During the hearing, Justice Muneeb Akhtar asked that why AD Khawaja was removed from the post despite court’s restraining order.
On Sunday, the acting IGP Sindh Sardar Abdul Majeed Dasti took charge as the provincial police chief after the Sindh government’s notification, which surrendered AD Khawaja’s services to the federal government. Khawaja was appointed as the IGP on March 13, 2016.
But, hearing a case regarding the matter on Monday, the SHC ordered Dasti to immediately hand over charge to Khawaja as IGP Sindh until the next hearing of the case, which was adjourned until April 6.
The petitioner, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) – a non-governmental organisation – argued that the Police Order 2002 is a federal law that cannot be amended by the provincial government.
“We only have a copy of the WhatsApp notification that was issued to remove the IGP Sindh from his post,” the petitioner’s lawyer Barrister Faisal Siddiqui stated in court. “The court should take notice of the Sindh government’s comments,” Advocate General (AG) Sindh Zameer Ghumro remarked.
Justice Muneeb Akhter asked the AG why the stay order was violated. “The court’s order was not violated. We followed the precedent of the Supreme Court’s Anita Turab case wherein OPS officers to be sent back to their grades,” AG Sindh said.
Ghumro further stated that Majeed is Khawaja’s senior. “The IGP is appointed as per the Police Act’s article 3.”
The provincial government sent the police chief packing only three months after an attempt to send him on forced leave was made. PILER filed a case with the SHC last year when an attempt to send the IGP on a “forced leave” was made.
However, the SHC issued a stay order on the case. Khawaja continued to serve after the media highlighted the issue and move was criticised by civil society and political parties.
Soon after the court issued its orders, PPP leader Maula Bux Chandio announced that his party would use its constitutional right to challenge the SHC’s ruling in Supreme Court of Pakistan. Chandi said he will not comment on the court decision.
