CM forced fake FIRs, official tells LHC

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry ordered an inquiry against the Tourism Development Corporation Punjab (TDCP) managing director (MD) on Tuesday for implicating a contractor in bogus cases, allegedly on ‘directions’ from Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Chaudhry also summoned the Punjab Police inspector general (IG) and Rawalpindi regional police officer (RPO) for Wednesday (today) along with records of the case in order to explain to the court why fake cases were registered against a contractor who did not give a ‘share’ to close aides of the chief minister.
The court passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Azam Saeed, an architect-contractor qualified from the National College of Arts who was harassed and implicated in two bogus theft cases to counter his honesty in development work at a park named “PIA Park” on Kashmir Point in Murree, located in front of Chief Minister’s House, Murree.
Appearing in court, TDCP MD Saad A Khan claimed on Tuesday that first information reports (FIRs) against the contractor were registered lawfully for “stealing” from construction material for the park for which he was awarded the contract, which was later cancelled.
FIRS: The statement, however, did not satisfy the chief justice and he started an expert cross examination of the MD that soon exposed him, and he revealed in confusion that FIRs were registered on orders from “higher authorities”.
“By ‘higher authorities’ do you mean the Punjab chief minister?” asked Chaudhry. “Yes, your honour,” the MD said, admitting in an embarrassed tone that the FIRs were registered when the contractor did not give sub-contracts of the work to men recommended by Sharif for “sharing profits”. The situation took a graver turn when the chief justice told the MD that the head of the TDCP should be a grade 20 government officer and “you are not in grade 20”. Khan replied that he was a “senior 19th grade” officer. The chief justice, visibly infuriated, said he had never heard of such a grade. “When officers of lower grades such as yourself are planted on seats of higher grades, they please ‘higher authorities’ by using foul means,” said Chaudhry. The chief justice then ordered the government, through the Punjab chief secretary, to initiate an inquiry against the MD for everything he had done to remain glued to the post.
Azam had submitted that he was contracted by the TDCP in July 2009 to develop the park. He said as he started work on the park together with Engineer Kamran Gull, but soon afterwards officials of the TDCP and men from Chief Minister’s House started harassing them, demanding their “share” in the work’s profit or that the contractor illegally employ their men as “sub-contractors” in the work to get clearance of payment by the TDCP.
When he refused, he said, the TDCP cancelled his contract on May 3, 2010 unlawfully without paying him five bills worth Rs 6 million and refunding a security deposit of Rs 1.8 million he had given to the TDCP at the start of the contract.
The TDCP stopped his payment and the cheques, which had already been issued, also bounced, he said. He added that when he protested against the mistreatment, he was implicated in fake cases. “A theft case against Engineer Kamran Gull and I was registered, alleging that we stole from the park material costing Rs 1.08 million and we were arrested,” the petitioner said.
On July 6, 2011, he said, a Rawalpindi court granted bail to Gull and him but they were arrested again immediately after being released based on a new FIR, which was also a theft case registered by the TDCP in Texila Police Station.