Conduct FIA inquiry against Sindh ministers, PTI leader asks PM Imran

KARACHI: Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Firdous Shamim Naqvi, on Monday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan asking him to task the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with investigating two provincial ministers for alleged ties to criminals. 

According to a report in The News, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker Haleem Adil Sheikh penned a separate letter to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, accusing him of violating the laws while asking the federal government to remove incumbent Sindh Inspector General of Police Kaleem Imam. 

The developments come amid a political tussle over the removal of Imam from his post as the provincial police chief. After the Sindh government formally asked the centre to remove Imam in early January, the opposition in Sindh has vehemently opposed the move. 

Also read: Federal government to transfer Kaleem Imam from Sindh Police to Narcotics Division: report

In the letter to the premier, Naqvi asked PM Imran to mandate the FIA with conducting inquiries against two important provincial ministers, Saeed Ghani and Imtiaz Shaikh, to probe the allegations leveled against them for ties with criminals. 

Naqvi also took a swipe at the Sindh CM for violating the police act. "We take strong exception that the IGP Sindh is being replaced without taking the police commission into confidence. Such actions should not be announced through the media till they are finalised,” he said.

Naqvi noted that under new laws approved by the Sindh Assembly, the three-year tenure of an IGP was protected from political interventions. "In the last 12 years of Pakistan Peoples Party rule, 14 IGPs have been changed," he outlined. 

Also read: Embattled IG Sindh Kaleem Imam's speech at ceremony stirs speculation

Addressing PM Imran, Naqvi further said that if the CM Sindh was seeking to change the IGP, he should have informed the premier in writing and in private, or the federal government in private, giving compelling reasons as called out in Clause 12 of the Police Act. 

“Instead he chose to go against a decorated police officer who has served the police department for over 25 years, who has served abroad and received many awards for his services,” he said. “IGP is an extremely respected officer and considered as competent by colleagues," he added.

Naqvi claimed that Imam had recommended the removal of 28 police officers from service because of their involvement in corruption. “But CM Shah has been sitting on their files because the police officers are the cronies of Sindh MPAs and Sindh’s ruling party members," he alleged. 

Also read: PM Imran, CM Murad agree on Mushtaq Mahar as new Sindh IGP

The PTI leader further noted that CM Shah had asked the Establishment Division to send two senior police officers out of the province because they had submitted reports against provincial ministers Saeed Ghani and Imtiaz Shiak, accusing them of being involved in criminal activities. 

“We would strongly recommend to you that you should immediately send these reports to the Federal Investigation Agency to probe them and to ensure that justice is duly done,” he said. 

'Not fulfilling promises'

PTI’s central vice president, Haleem Adil Sheikh, in his letter to CM Shah, on Monday said that while the chief minister had written three letters to the Prime Minister stating that the premier was not fulfilling promises.

"Your allegations are misinformed," Sheikh wrote.

"As you [CM Shah] decided to transfer the IGP after consultation with your cabinet, PM Imran also consulted with his cabinet. The cabinet decided to consult with the Sindh governor in this regard, who represents the federation, but you [CM Shah] refused to talk to him," he wrote. 

“Later, another letter was written to the PM in which objections were raised on the press conference of PM’s information adviser Firdous Ashiq Awan, as the Sindh information advisor presented a charge sheet in his press conference against the IGP Sindh,” the PTI leader said. 

Also read: Sindh cabinet recommends removal of IGP Kaleem Imam

“Had the Sindh government followed the rules this would not have become a complicated issue,” Sheikh said, adding that as per Police Act 2002, Amendment Act 2019 and Police Act 1861, an IGP was posted for three years. 

"The current IGP Sindh had taken charge of his office on September 15, 2018, and his tenure is till September 14, 2021. As per the law, if the provincial government wants to get an IGP transferred during this three-year duration, it has to present cogent reasons," he noted. 

Originally published in The News