SHC blocks Sindh govt move to replace AD Khawaja

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday suspended a notification issued by the Sindh government that replaced AD Khawaja with Sardar Abdul Majeed Dasti as the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

On Sunday, Sardar Abdul Majeed Dasti took charge as the acting IGP Sindh after the provincial government's surrendered AD Khawaja's services to the federal government.

Khawaja was appointed as the IGP on March 13, 2016.

But, hearing the contempt of court case for the termination of Khawaja 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 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 in December 2016. Khawaja continued to serve after the media highlighted the issue and move was criticised by civil society and political parties.

Justice Muneeb Akhter on April 3 asked the Advocate General (AG) Sindh Zameer Ghumro 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," Ghumro said.

AG Sindh further stated that Majeed is Khawaja's senior. "The IGP is appointed as per the Police Act's article 3."

The Sindh government used its maximum unilateral authority to give the additional charge of IGP to Sardar Abdul Majeed Dasti, who was already serving the province in the capacity of Additional IG till "appointment/posting of regular incumbent by the Establishment Division." A Sindh police spokesman announced later in the day that Dasti had taken charge.

As per the law, officers in grade 21 and above can only be appointed with the consent of the prime minister after a province forwards the request to the federal government. Any appointment for the post of IG police is made for a minimum period of three years.