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Tuesday March 19, 2024

No more security for unauthorised persons in Punjab

By Our Correspondent
April 22, 2018


LAHORE: The Punjab IGP on Saturday presented a compliance report on withdrawal of police security, stating that 4,610 policemen have been called back from VIPs’ security.

Revealing the details, the IG said 297 policemen were deployed for politicians’ security, 527 for civil administration officers, 469 for judges of subordinate judiciary, 54 for media person and anchors, and 23 policemen were guarding lawyers. He said all of them have been withdrawn.

On it, the chief justice said as per his information, the total number of policemen posted in the name of additional security touched 7,000.

He, however, said the IGP should look into the matter and provide security to persons who are entitled to it under the law. “We do not afford any untoward incident to be happened due to non-availability of security,” he added.

He heaped praise on the IGP for his excellent work and directed him to submit a complete report on security withdrawal in two weeks time.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Nisar took suo motu notice of the appointment of Tauqir Shah, who is the former principal secretary of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, as Pakistan’s ambassador to World Trade Organisation (WTO) and ordered him to appear before the court on next hearing.

The top judge also ordered the establishment secretary to furnish the record pertaining to the appointment.

During the court proceedings, the chief justice asked Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique as to why Tauqir was sent abroad and “why have the colour of your face faded after hearing about the suo motu notice?”

To this, Salman replied that Tauqir was appointed to Geneva, Switzerland, upon which the chief justice questioned, “Isn’t this the same country where people accumulate their wealth?”

“We are told that we are interfering, now let’s see how transparent this appointment was,” the chief justice added.

Tauqir was reportedly removed from the post of principal secretary after the Model Town incident. Soon after, the federal government had approved his appointed as WTO ambassador.

The decision was opposed by Federal Secretary for Trade Arbab Shahzad.

Separately, the chief justice removed Punjab University VC Dr Zakria Zakar over allotment of the varsity’s land to the government for construction of a grid station.

During the proceedings at the apex court’s Lahore Registry, a two-member bench led by the chief justice suspended the VC and asked under whose authority 80 kanals of the varsity land was given to the government. Justice Ijazul Ahsan is the other member of the bench.

The court also summoned the members of the syndicate that was responsible for selling the land and wondered why the university had not had a permanent VC for the past two years and ordered that he should be informed of who was responsible for the delay.

While addressing the syndicate, the top judge remarked: “On whose authority did the syndicate ask the university for the land?”

The court had been informed that the land was allotted for the construction of the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project, he added.

On April 19, the chief justice had taken a suo motu notice of PU selling land to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) and sought a report from the varsity administration within three days.

Similarly on April 14, an assistant professor of the Punjab University Dr Ammar Ali Jan claimed that his services were terminated by the administration because he highlighted the shadowy allocation of the land.

The chief justice also took notice of sexual harassment of women at Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) and formed a two-member commission, comprising Advocate Ayesha Hamid and Zafar Kalanauri, to examine the overall situation at the hospital and submit a compliance report.

“It is not a medical facility, but a jail,” he observed and added that the male staffers tended to female patients being treated at the hospital. The chief justice also summoned a report from the provincial government on the appointment of the PIMH director.

However, the top judge further expressed happiness over University of Health Sciences VC Dr Faisal Masood’s report regarding the suo motu taken of the poultry feed and chicken meat.

According to the report, the chicken meat and the poultry feed were deemed fit to be consumed and the germs found in the chicken claws were normal.

The chief justice told Dr Faisal that the court was grateful to him for preparing the comprehensive report by going to every shop and store and wrapping the matter up at the earliest.

While wrapping up the proceedings in the suo motu case, the court in its remarks said it was a good thing that issues were resolved in a suo motu case and hoped that the people from the railway department wouldn’t mind that the courts were interfering in their affairs.

On the other hand, the chief justice showed his displeasure over the delay in the smog case and remarked that further delay would not be tolerated, as he directed the smog commission report to be presented before the apex court on June 9.

“Further delay in the case will not be tolerated as it concerns our future generations,” he remarked.

The smog commission chairperson, Dr Parvez Hassan, appeared before the court, along with petitioners and officials of Punjab Environment Department. The Lahore High Court had constituted the smog commission on January 5 to look into the cause of smog and implement environmental laws to prevent its effects.

A petitioner is the case shared that smog affects health and environment, adding that government should take precautions to prevent it.

The court remarked that any order pertaining to combining all smog petitions would be given once the report is presented.

In another suo motu, the court adjourned the hearing for a week to give time for gathering suggestions and ideas on how to improve the current state of hospitals. During the hearing of matters related to quack doctors and action against them, some fake doctors managed to enter the court premises.

The top judge expressed frustration and hinted to lock up all of them and ordered them to leave the court. “People who play with the lives of other people were not deserving of any leniency,” he added.

Resuming the hearing of the suo motu taken of pollution emitting from a chemical factory in Sargodha, the court directed the sample of chemical waste to be sent to PCSI and Punjab laboratories for further testing.

“We don't only rely on reports but will continue checking on our own,” remarked the chief justice.

Moreover, the court also summoned Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Capt (retd) Saif Anjum.

When asked about the steps taken by the department to curb pollution, the secretary shared that a committee had been formed to investigate the issue and a six-bed dispensary established in the area.

The committee will visit the site and attain samples on April 23, he informed the court.

The Supreme Court also stayed the execution of two schizophrenic death row prisoners and expressed serious concerns that how a mentally ill person can be hanged.

On behalf of the prisoners, Barrister Sarah Belal of JPP told the court that a medical board should be directed to examine the current mental health of Kanizan Bibi. She also requested the court to order shifting of the schizophrenic prisoner to Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) so she could receive a better medical treatment and care.

She pointed out that Pakistan has signed international treaties, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits the execution of mentally ill prisoners. Islamic jurisprudence also disallows the death penalty for the mentally ill.

To a court’s query, a lawyer from complainant side, in another identical case, stated that there was no such bar on the hanging of handicapped or mentally ill prisoners under local laws and jail manuals.

At this, Justice Ahsan observed that there were international human rights conventions against the execution of mentally ill prisoners.

The chief justice said the court would get examination of Kanizan Bibi by a medical board before further proceedings in the case. He tasked the same medical board with the job, which previously dealt with the case of the woman prisoner.

On the request of Barrister Belal, he also ordered shifting of the prisoner to the PIMH and directed its consultant Dr Tahir Pervez, present in the court, to personally take care of her and ensure good medical treatment.

The court-appointed amicus curie Ayesha Hamid told the chief justice that all legal remedies including mercy petition before the president had been exhausted by the prisoner. However, she said the president stayed the execution of Kanizan Bibi due to her mental health.

The chief justice suspended the execution of Kanizan Bibi till further orders and sought her medical examination report on a hearing to be held at Islamabad along with an identical matter of another schizophrenic death row prisoner namely Imdad Ali.

In October 2016, execution warrants were issued for Imdad Ali after the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal. However, following public outcry, a fresh petition from his lawyers, and a review filed from the government of Punjab, his third execution warrant was prevented from being issued.

Kanizan Bibi had been languishing in jail for last 27 years and was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2000.