LAHORE, Jan 21: Senior police officers have started preparing themselves for their expected promotions to BS-21 and 20 in the wake of the decision by the Punjab IGP to appoint five additional IGs and five new DIGs in the field.

The proposal had been sent to the chief minister for approval and it had been made according to the provisions of the new Police Order, senior policemen said here on Saturday.

According to the proposal, one each additional IGP of BS-21 would be posted in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi, besides the Punjab Constabulary because the capital city, the ranges and the constabulary had more than 10,000 police employees each.

The additional IGs in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore will have two DIGs each under them — one heading operations and the other investigation wings.

The incumbent DIGs would automatically become DIGs operations while new postings would be made against the posts of DIGs investigation.

The Punjab Constabulary’s additional IG would become its commandant and the present commandant (DIG) deputy commandant.

Officials said the new set-up would hopefully be introduced before the next financial year.

At present, the Punjab police have three additional IGs — AIG Punjab, AIG Special Branch and AIG Investigation.

Sources said six DIGs of the Second Common Batch, who are in BS-20, would most probably be promoted to the next higher grade. They had already attended advance promotion courses in the Defence College.

They are: Asrar Ahmad, Talat Mahmood, Khwaja Khalid Farooq, Muhammad Wasim, Fayyaz Mir and Mirza Muhammad Ali.

Among the seven OSD DIGs in the Punjab are Irfan Mahmood, Aftab Sultan, Shamsul Hassan, Chaudhry Tanvir, Javaid Noor and Chaudhry Sajjad.

The officers could also be promoted or called from other provinces for the new posts of DIG investigation.