A PO-turned-PIO of judicial academy

ISLAMABAD: In February this year, a citizen filed an information request to Punjab Judicial Academy to inquire about the appointment of Hannan Asghar, the son of a former judge of the Lahore High Court, as assistant director. He sought the copy of his police verification report, which a department requires before the induction of an individual.

The reply came from none other than Hanan himself to whom the academy has also named Principal Information Officer (PIO) to answer queries filed using The Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013. In the reply he gave about himself as PIO of the academy, Hanan claimed exemption because this was private information about an individual. This doesn’t end there. Hanan further revealed that his police verification record “is not available in the record” of the academy.

Who has applied for this information and what Hannan is trying to hide from him? Imran Shaukat, the applicant, is into a rent-a-car business and allegedly lost as many as 16 cars to Hannan who is facing the allegations of snatching cars and there are more than 20 FIRs registered against him by Imran and other alleged victims.

More to it, Hannan is a proclaimed offender (PO) in three cases. The two other co-accused in this organised crime are also POs. According to the modus operandi, they would take cars on rent and sell them onwards leaving the owners to run around in search of the stolen assets.

As the victims started approaching the family of Hannan, his father disowned him through advertisements in newspapers. Two such advertisements were published in Urdu newspapers in November 2020. Incidentally, Justice (R) Abdul Sattar Asghar, his father, was director general of Punjab Judicial Academy.

Justice Sattar served from September 2021 till his death in January 2022. Four months after his passing, Hannan was appointed on a one-year contract in the academy as assistant director (administration). Hanan has also been granted another one-year extension.

While Police are reluctant to proceed against him at a time when he is also declared PO in its record, the victims run from pillar to post in search of justice. Imran Shaukat is one of them. He is using RTI law to bring him to justice. After failing in his earlier attempt to get information as Hannan claimed exemption while answering on behalf of the academy, Imran filed another RTI application in March, a month after his earlier request.

In the new application, he has sought details asking questions like the copy of the advertisement against which Hannan was appointed, whether his police verification was examined by the appointing authority, whether any inquiry was ordered to find the police verification report which is not in the record (as Hannan said while replying as PIO to the previous application), why his appointment was not disclosed on the website of the academy and whether the judicial academy is aware that Hannan is accused in as many as 20 FIRs (copies were also attached). His last question: whether the judicial academy can afford the continuation of a renowned criminal as its employee facilitating him to influence police investigation in his favour? The RTI application was filed on March 27 this year but Hannan has not answered this either in his personal capacity or as PIO of the academy. The News also tried to reach him without success. The sims registered in his name are inactive. He was also tried at his mentioned official number, the person who attended that suggested another number which remained unattended.