April 10, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 3, 1429

KARACHI, April 9: The Karachi police witnessed a major reshuffle on Wednesday, amid severe violence in the city which killed more than half a dozen people, in a move reflecting the change of the political administration in the province.

The principal decision came from the IG Sindh office, which decided to replace all the three deputy inspectors-general of as many zones in the city. Though the notification was not issued till our going to press, sources within the police department maintained that the announcement had been made and officers concerned informed about it.

“The IG Sindh has decided to replace DIG South Javed Bukhari with Iqbal Mahmood while Wajid Ali Durrani, currently serving as DIG Traffic, will take charge of DIG West in place of Falak Khursheed,” said a source citing the decision made by the IG office.

Similarly, he added, DIG East Salman Syed, who was assigned the job a few months ago, is likely to be replaced by Bashir Memon, currently serving at the National Police Academy.

The sources said the change within the police command came at a crucial time when the city was forced to plunge into lawlessness, when confrontation between two groups of lawyers led to severe exchanges of fire, arson and violence across the city, leaving more than six people dead and over 50 vehicles burnt.

A senior official agreed with the notion that the fresh postings in Karachi police’s higher cadre was the tip of the iceberg, as the new political administration would like to change senior officers of the department elevated by the previous government.

“Notifications of the new postings are expected by the morning (Thursday),” said the official. “We expect more changes in the days to come, which include transfers and postings in police as well as the provincial home department.”

He said Wednesday’s violence and police failure to control it in time would precipitate change in senior police ranks, and the removal of the SP of Saddar Town was the first step in that direction.

“SP Tahir Naveed has been replaced after the increased violence, which affected mostly his town and led to his replacement with SP Ameer Sheikh,” added the official.

“The wave of change in the police setup is likely to trickle down to lower level, where SPs of different towns and district police officers in several cities of the province are likely to be transferred from their positions.”

He said the Pakistan People’s Party leadership, which has taken over the Sindh administration for a third time since 1988, had started receiving inputs about and feedback on officers holding different offices, and a few sitting officers were likely to get replaced by them.

“There are various reasons for the shakeup of the police hierarchy but the most important reason perhaps is the perception about the existing setup, which is supposed to be under the influence of the outgoing administration,” added the official.