–Probe team terms federal minister’s stance on cow grazing incident as ‘false and fabricated’
–Court seeks Swati’s reply when hearing resumes on Dec 4, warns victim family against reaching settlement with minister
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Thursday, while hearing a case pertaining to the transfer of Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jan Muhammad, remarked that Federal Minister Azam Swati had misused his powers and sought a clarification from him under Article 62 (1)(F) of the Constitution.
A bench headed by the chief justice was hearing the suo motu case of the Islamabad IGP’s transfer.
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Senator Azam Swati’s lawyer Ali Zafar informed the bench that the joint investigation team (JIT) formed to probe the minister’s misconduct had submitted a sealed report before the court.
The JIT had been formed by the top court after taking suo motu notice of former Islamabad Police Inspector General Jan Muhammad’s transfer from the capital. The JIT comprises the Intelligence Bureau’s (IB) Ahmad Rizwan, Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Mir Vaiz Niaz and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi Director General Irfan Mangi.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Nisar read the JIT’s conclusion terming Swati’s stance “false and fabricated”. It said the stance of Swati family and their servants pertaining to “cow grazing has no basis whatsoever and thus found to be false, concocted, fabricate, inconsistent and factually incorrect. Moreover, the federal minister was given special treatment by relevant authorities”.
“By the virtue of his post, he wielded his influence and prevailed upon the authorities by misusing his office and profile leading to arbitrary and discriminatory treatment to the private citizens,” the JIT report said.
“Swati misused his powers and the JIT report states that the federal minister was accorded special treatment,” the chief justice remarked.
The federal minister’s counsel told the bench that his client is travelling abroad as part of a delegation, to which Justice Nisar responded, “We do not know any minister. Everyone is equal in front of the court.”
“The question is whether such a person should remain minister? We will have to keep in mind Article 62 (1)(F). We are issuing a notice to Swati to satisfy us under Article 62 (1)(F),” the top judge added.
The chief justice also said that a case should be registered on the basis of JIT’s report as an apology is not acceptable because poor people were tortured.
Further, Justice Nisar added, “We will also have to see how many acres of land Swati has encroached on.”
Swati’s counsel then informed the bench that the federal minister will return on December 3. “I can get a reply submitted one week after that,” he said. In response, the chief justice said, “I can get him to return to the country.”
The top judge further inquired about the whereabouts of the affected family and when they appeared before the court, Justice Nisar remarked, “We are fighting for your respect and for your daughters. How did you reach an agreement with them? We do not permit you to enter an agreement with them. Why should they be forgiven? Were your daughters not imprisoned?”
Directing the affected family to not enter an agreement with Swati’s family, the court sought a reply from Swati on JIT’s report by Tuesday. The hearing of the case was then adjourned till Dec 4.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Nisar had taken suo motu notice of Islamabad IGP Jan Muhammad’s abrupt transfer last month. The IGP was transferred on October 27 after he allegedly refused to take action on a complaint by the son of Federal Minister for Science and Technology Azam Swati, regarding a fight over purported encroachment with a family at their farmhouse.
The apex court had formed a JIT to probe allegations of misuse of authority, misconduct and encroachment against the minister.
As soon as the IGP was removed, a case for the matter was registered at the Secretariat police station on the complaint of Swati’s son. The accused were arrested and sent to Adiala Jail.
