KARACHI: A tug of war between the Sindh government and Inspector General of Police AD Khawaja over control of power seems to continue as the Sindh High Court was informed on Thursday that the IGP had been rendered virtually toothless since the government has not been inviting the latter to security-related meetings.
The provincial government had stripped the Sindh police chief of his powers, which would affect the law and order situation of the province, and Karachi in particular, and also lower the morale of the force. This was pointed out by the federal law officer before a division bench that was hearing a petition against the Sindh government’s decision to remove Khawaja.
Additional Attorney General Salman Talibuddin contended that Khawaja was not being invited by the government to security-related meetings which demonstrated the governments dislike for the IG.
Refuting these claims, Advocate General Zameer Ghumro said that the federal government should not intervene in matters that solely lie in the domain of the province. He asked the judges to hear the matter on a daily basis.
While adjourning the matter to May 2nd, the bench extended its stay order against the removal of AD Khawaja until further orders.
During the previous hearing, Faisal Siddiqui, the petitioners’ lawyer, forwarded his arguments over the provincial government’s powers to remove and appoint the IG Sindh of its own choosing and to enact laws that lie in the domain of federal government.
Ghumro apprised the judges of the mechanism the provincial government had adopted for the appointment of the IG Sindh over the years.
He contended that the provincial government had powers to appoint an IG of its own choice. Invariably, the government recommends three police officers to the federal government and one of them is chosen to be IG Sindh.
Siddiqui said the provincial government enacted the Sindh (Repeal of the Police Order 2002 and Revival of the Police Act 1861) Act 2011, which was unconstitutional and aimed at subverting transparency and the check-and-balance mechanism in the police department.
The PPP’s provincial government had suffered a setback on March 3rd when the high court suspended its notification restoring AD Khawaja as IG Sindh and asking the new IG to relinquish the charge.
The court observed that the IG could be removed only after the cabinet endorses the decision as the apex court had held in its verdict that the provincial governments could exercise their statutory powers conferred on them through cabinet.
In the wake of the court’s order, the Sindh government summoned a cabinet meeting which endorsed the removal of AD Khawaja and the appointment of additional IG Sardar Abdul Majeed Dasti in his place.
