ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on Thursday took notice of the transfer of Pakpattan District Police Officer (DPO) Rizwan Gondal for allegedly having altercation with Khawar Fareed Maneka, a former husband of first lady Bushra Imran.

The chief justice ordered Punjab Inspector General Kaleem Imam, Additional Inspector General Abu Bakar Khuda Buksh, Sahiwal’s regional police officer and the Pakpattan DPO to appear before the Supreme Court on Friday along with the inquiry report.

The controversy arose when, according to Pakpattan police, DPO Gondal’s men tried to stop Mr Maneka’s car as he was travelling towards Pir Ghani on the night of August 23. Mr Maneka refused to stop on the policemen’s request and misbehaved with them. Subsequently, Mr Maneka demanded that the DPO visit his dera to personally apologise to him.

But Mr Gondal refused and was subsequently transferred. The Punjab police later clarified that the DPO was transferred for displaying conduct unbecoming of a police officer and misreporting facts.

NCSW seeks SC declaration that jirga system is inhuman and against fundamental rights

Jirga system

Meanwhile, the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) requested the Supreme Court to order that no individual or persons in the name of a jirga or panchayat or under any other name should assume the jurisdiction of a civil or criminal court without any lawful authority.

The demand was made through a recommendation prepared during a meeting held on the order of a three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar who had asked NCSW chairman Khawar Mumtaz, law secretary Abdul Shakoor Paracha and other senior government officers to sit together and suggest ways and means of tackling the issue.

The apex court had taken up a petition moved by the NCSW seeking a declaration that the prevalent jirga system in the country was inhuman and against the fundamental rights and human dignity.

During the proceedings, the chief justice regretted that sometimes village people approached jirga being run by seminaries or organisations like Jamaatud Dawa for resolution of disputes that imposed hefty fines which were illegal.

“Such bodies have no jurisdiction to award death sentence,” the chief justice observed, adding that the court would direct the government to introduce a law on the matter and propose it in parliament.

Through the recommendation, the NCSW demanded that the federal government amend the Pakistan Penal Code by adding penal provisions for punishment of such illegal acts.

Giving a woman in marriage to settle a civil dispute or a criminal liability should be made cognisable offence with minimum punishment of at least five years, the recommendation said.

“If as a consequence of any illegal decision, order, direction or inducement of such self-appointed bodies committed, the offender as well as the said individual or a group of persons should be held responsible jointly for the offence,” the recommendation said, adding that all IGs as well as the Islamabad IGP should be directed to submit quarterly reports on actions taken against such individuals and bodies to the NCSW and relevant provincial commissions on the status of women.

It said that jirga or panchayat sometimes took decisions regarding murder, kidnapping of women, marriages against their will, out of courts settlements in cases of rape in other form of sexual offences, theft, Badal-e-Sulah (Vani, Sawara, etc), obstructed and prevented choice marriage, compelled divorce and forced marriage.

The recommendation said the jirga also imposed fines and ordered forced marriages to settle disputes, executed forced divorce in instances of choice marriages, deprived women of their share in properties, especially in inheritance properties, and also took up issues against the fundamental rights of citizens, totally based on discrimination and illegal, unlawful.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2018