Daily Times

The joint investigation team (JIT) on Thursday submitted a report in the Supreme Court (SC) declaring Minister for Science and Technology Azam Khan Swati guilty in Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) transfer case.

While hearing a case pertaining to the transfer of Islamabad IGP Jan Muhammad, Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar remarked that the federal minister misused his powers. He sought explanation from the minister under Article 62(1))(f), which sets the precondition for a member of parliament to be ‘sadiq’ and ‘ameen’. The chief justice said a case should be registered against the minister on the basis of the JIT report as apology is not acceptable because poor people were tortured.

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 to the court. “I have yet to receive a copy of the report,” he said. At this, the chief justice remarked, “Swati misused his powers and the JIT report states that the federal minister was accorded ‘special treatment’.” The minister’s counsel told the bench that his client is travelling abroad as part of a delegation. The chief justice responded, “We do not know any minister … everyone is equal in front of the court. The question is whether such a person should remain a 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).””We will also have to see how many acres of land Swati has encroached upon,” he added.

Swati’s counsel informed the bench that the 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 inquired about the whereabouts of the affected family. When they appeared before the court, the chief justice 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 into 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 December 4.

Key revelations have been made in the report submitted in court by the JIT. The report stated that a day after the incident, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi and Islamabad SSP Operations visited Swati’s house. “Police sided with Swati’s family and did not conduct a transparent investigation. The police deliberately adopted an irresponsible attitude,” the report reads. “On October 30, the affected, Niaz Ali was granted bail after which the matter was resolved through an agreement,” it added.

The report quoted Niaz Ali as saying that a jirga visited his house and “as a Pakhtun, he could not refuse the jirga so he forgave the suspects”. “Swati’s wife took clothes for Niaz Ali’s children and he was also offered money which he refused to take. All this happened after the SC took suo motu notice of the case,” the report upheld.

The JIT report concluded that the stated position of Swati family and their domestic help regarding the Niaz Muhammad family’s cow grazing on their land had “no basis whatsoever”, and added that it was a “false, concocted, fabricated, inconsistent and factually incorrect” position.

Published in Daily Times, November 30^th 2018.