As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government recovers from the embarrassment caused by an incident involving Khawar Farid Maneka, one of Pakistan’s senior journalists has come up with yet another twist to the story.
The host of Geo TV’s “Aik Din Geo K Sath” show and columnist Sohail Waraich says neither Prime Minister Imran Khan nor his wife Bushra Imran has anything to do with the transfer of Pakpattan District Police Officer (DPO) Rizwan Gondal.
According to media reports, Gondal was reportedly transferred at the behest of Khawar Farid Maneka, the former husband of Bushra Imran after the Punjab police officials offended him by intercepting his vehicle.
In his weekly column, the inimitable journalist wrote in Daily Jang that the actual story is completely different from what has been largely reported.
He goes on to reveal that an intense tug of war and acrimony persisted between Maneka and Bushra Imran, rejecting the common perception that the divorce between the two took place in an amicable manner.
Sohail Waraich says the differences of personalities led to the divorce between the two despite their efforts to keep the union intact. All the arrangements and interventions from close friends to save the relationship also failed.
The mistrust between the parents of five children continued to deepen even after Bushra Maneka tied the knot with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan.
In the run-up to the July 25 elections one of Maneka’s brother, a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, openly expressed his resentment of their former sister in law.
In the first incident that took place on August 5, Sohail Waraich writes that Mubashira Maneka and Ibrahim Maneka, children of Farid Maneka and Bushra, were intercepted by the police. A heated argument ensued between police and Ibrahim who contacted his father by mobile phone. Maneka rushed to the spot and took his children away.
According to an inquiry report prepared by the Punjab Police, Ibrahim said in his statement that the incident took place when he along with his sister was walking to the shrine of Baba Farid.
After the incident, Khawar Farid conveyed to his ex-wife that the police had acted at her behest.
Angered over the incident, Ibrahim and Mubashira stopped talking to their mother. On the other hand, Bushra Imran thought it to be the work of Khawar Farid’s brother who was pitting children against their mother.
Khawar Farid also probed the DPO to reveal the name of the person behind the whole episode. “What could the DPO have told when there was nothing to tell,” Sohail Waraich wrote.
Before the dust had settled, came August 23. Khawar Farid, his new wife, servants and guards were intercepted by police while they were on their way to the Peer Ghani State.
An inquiry report prepared by Additional IG Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh, Khawar Farid Maneka didn’t pull up when he was signalled by police.
Maneka, however, argued that he neither saw any police post nor any red light.
According to the columnist, the police chased the two cars of Maneka’s convoy and intercepted them.
Farid Maneka came out of his vehicle and introduced himself. Officers were insisting for vehicle search suspecting the presence of illegal arms in the custody of Maneka’s guards.
Maneka then contacted DPO Rizwan Gondal and informed him of the situation. The DPO, the columnist wrote, asked the officers to let Maneka go.
The second incident strengthened his suspicion that the police were acting on someone’s orders and Bushra Bibi was the prime suspect thinking that she was doing all this out of vengeance.
Ahsan Jamil Iqbal, a family friend of Maneka’s, intervened after both the sides exchanged allegations.
Jameel approached Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar whom he had acquainted during a couple of meetings in Bani Gala and brought the issue into his notice.
Additional IG Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh in his inquiry report wrote that neither Punjab IG nor another police officer had asked DPO Gondal to apologize to the Manekas.
But a suggestion indeed came up during a meeting at the Chief Minister House that either Gondal should apologize or give an explanation to Ibrahim Maneka.
Meanwhile, the issue surfaced in the media and the transfer of DPO became politicized.
Explaining the entire episode, Sohail Waraich wrote that two different forces of the Punjab Police; Highway Patrolling and the Elite Force, have intercepted the Maneka family.
Both the incidents took place late at night when police see everybody with suspicion and don’t hesitate in manhandling citizens.
Such incidents are commonplace in all of Punjab and one of them happened in Pakpattan, but the transfer of DPO became the talk of town just because the issue involved Punjab CM, First Lady and her former husband.
The News, Pakistan
