NA-75 Daska by-poll: Punjab CS, IGP assure ECP of probe against officials concerned

ISLAMABAD: Chief Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik and Inspector General Police (IGP) Punjab Inam Ghani on Thursday assured the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to launch an inquiry against district administration and police officials who were posted in Sialkot, its tehsils Daska and Sambrial, and Gujranwala Division, in the backdrop of National Assembly’s constituency NA-75 Daska (Sialkot)-IV by-election debacle.

The Chief Secretary and IGP appeared before the five-member full ECP bench comprising of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and all the four ECP Members; Justice Altaf Ibrahim Qureshi (Punjab), Shah Muhammad Jatoi (Sindh), former Justice Irshad Qaiser (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Nisar Ahmed Durrani (Balochistan).

The bench resumed hearing of the case petitioned by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for NA-75 by-poll, Nosheen Iftikhar, who accused government machinery of “massive rigging” in the by-poll held on February 19.

At the hearing, the Chief Secretary and IGP shared compliance report with ECP regarding Commission’s instructions to reshuffle two top district administration officials and police officials posted in Gujranwala Division and suspend other senior district administration and police officers posted in tehsils Daska and Sambrial, and district Sialkot.

The bench was informed that action as well as inquiry to determine the involvement of the said officials were launched. Further action against the officials concerned would be taken in the light of the inquiry report, the ECP bench was informed.

The ECP directed the Chief Secretary and IGP Punjab to ensure the completion of the inquiry and initiate action “at the earliest.”

On February 25, ECP announced to hold re-polling at the entire NA-75 Sialkot-IV on the coming March 18, declaring the result of by-election as null and void, summoning Chief Secretary and IGP Punjab on March 4.

The Commission ordered the Punjab government that Commissioner Gujranwala Division Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah and Regional Police Officer (RPO) Gujranwala Region Riaz Nazir Gara be transferred from Gujranwala and posted outside this Division.

The Commission also ordered that Deputy Commissioner Sialkot Zeeshan Javed Lashari, District Police Officer (DPO) Sialkot Hassan Asad Alvi, Assistant Commissioner Daska Asif Hussain, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sambrial Zulfiqar Virk and DSP Daska Muhammad Ramzan Kamboh be suspended with immediate effect and should not be assigned any election duty in future.

The ECP said it would decide later whether it should directly hold inquiry against all these officers or direct provincial government to launch the related inquiry.

The ECP issued these orders after it announced re-election in NA-75 on PML-N candidate’s petition. Advocate Salman Akram Raja represented Nosheen while her rival electoral candidate Ali Asjad Malhi from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was represented by Barrister Ali Zafar in the case.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021