Islamabad (Staff Report): Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has said if the bureaucracy does not do its job then the premier and the chief minister have the authority to transfer them.
"The prime minister is the chief executive of the country and the chief minister is the chief executive of the province. They have executive powers and they will exercise them," said Chaudhry while speaking to the media in Islamabad.
Inspector Generals of Police (IGPs) are answerable to the prime minister and chief minister and questioned "what the point of elections is" if the premier cannot suspend a police chief, the minister added.
However, he denied to comment on the veracity of reports that minister Azam Swati had influenced the IGP's transfer.
On Monday, the Supreme Court of Pakistan suspended notification of the transfer of Inspector General Police Islamabad Lt (Retd) Jan Muhammad.
Earlier the day, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar took suo moto notice of the IGP transfer, summoning the attorney general and secretary defence to clarify their position regarding the transfer.
“Secretary defence should appear before the court and explain as to why the top cop was transferred,” the top judge remarked. “Rule of law would be established in the country and the institutions would not be weakened,” the CJP clarified.
The attorney general informed the court that Prime Minister Imran Khan verbally ordered to transfer IGP Islamabad.
However, the court suspended the notification of Jan Muhammad’s transfer.
On Sunday, the IGP Islamabad Jan Muhammad was transfered allegedly for refusing to attend the call of federal minister for science and technology Azam Sawati.
However, the Interior ministry said Sawati had nothing to do with the transfer of IGP rather the summary of his removal was on PM’s table for a couple of weeks.