PML-N says Pakpattan DPO’s transfer in Maneka case exposes PTI govt

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Tuesday submitted a resolution in the Punjab Assembly against the transfer of Pakpattan District Police Officer (DPO) Rizwan Omer Gondal after he reportedly refused to ‘apologise’ to First Lady Bushra Imran’s former husband Khawar Maneka.

The resolution was submitted by PML-N MPA Hina Pervaiz Butt, who accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of not following up on its promise of “depoliticizing police operations”.

The resolution stated that DPO Gondal was transferred through political interference, after police personnel under his watch tried to stop Khawar Maneka at a checkpoint.

It added that the party claimed to bring police reform but it violated the law itself by transferring the DPO out of revenge. The resolution demands that DPO Rizwan Gondal be reinstated immediately and the federal government conduct an inquiry into the matter without any bias.

Those responsible for the incident should be held accountable as per the law, the resolution adds.

Rizwan Gondal was ordered to relinquish his charge on Monday after he had reportedly refused to apologise to Khawar Maneka, the former husband of Pakistan’s first lady Bushra Imran, over an Aug 23 incident in which police officers had chased and intercepted his car after he sped away from a checkpoint.

According to police sources, Khawar Maneka had lost his cool and abused police officers when they intercepted his car around 1 am on Aug 23

After news of the senior police officer’s ‘transfer’ went viral on social media and drew people’s ire, Punjab Inspector General (IG) Kaleem Imam in a statement had denied that DPO Gondal was removed from his post due to pressure from ‘certain quarters’.

“Gondal was removed for misreporting an incident in which police officials misbehaved with a citizen,” the IG had said in his statement. The police chief, however, did not mention whether the citizen was Khawar Maneka or someone else.

Kaleem Imam had further stated that an inquiry was initiated against Gondal for misrepresenting the notification of his transfer on social media.