Punjab Police Inspector General (IG) Arif Nawaz has been ordered by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar to open all roads – blocked due to security reasons – outside the Model Town and Jati Umrah residences of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
When the Chief Justice asked Punjab Advocate General Shakilur Rehman Khan and the IG to cite any law allowing the chief minister to block the road outside his house, Shahbaz Sharif was also present in the court room.
A three-judge bench, led by CJP Nisar, was hearing the case about blockade of roads in the city by politicians, private people and government installations. Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik and Justice Ijazul Ahsan were also part of the bench.
ALSO READ
SHC Removes Regulatory Duty on Imported Cars and 730 Other Items
The CJP said that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was a public office holder thus he should live among the public.
“Even I have been receiving constant threats,” he replied reply to a point raised by the additional chief secretary (home) on serious security concerns in order to get the court to reverse the order. “I even refused to take Rangers’ security and had not blocked any road outside my house” said Justice Saqib Nisar.
On this the Chief secretary brought up the incident of a suicide attack outside Arfa Karim tower which, according to him, targeted the Chief Minister.
Upon hearing this, IG Nawaz was hammered by the CJP for constantly requesting to review the order. “You should have no issue when your chief minister himself volunteered before the court,” the chief justice said to the IG.
The CJP strictly ordered the IG to comply with the order by Sunday midnight. If you fail to submit a compliance report, the court will decide your fate,” the chief justice warned the police chief. “You are not going to stay as the IG even if the chief minister wants to retain you.”
ALSO READ
Justice Delivered? Supreme Court Passes Ruling on 100 Year Old Case
The roads that were ordered to reopen were:
The chief justice postponed the matter of blocked roads outside the residence of the Rangers director general, Police Lines Qila Gujjar Singh, Intelligence Bureau office, Chinese consulate, Iranian consulate and Data Darbar.
As per the court’s orders, the city police removed security barricades outside 16 places.
Via: Dawn
