LAHORE, Feb 8: Regional and district police officers and the district coordination officer of Dera Ghazi Khan have been relieved of their duty and made officers on special duty (OSDs) for their failure to ensure a foolproof security cover to a mourning procession resulting in loss of dozens of lives in the border district of the province.

A decision to the effect was taken by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a meeting held here on Sunday to discuss threadbare law and order situation in the wake of DG Khan suicide attack and bombing at a police check-post in Mianwali.

The chief minister, who in his first stint in the late nineties had formed Elite Force to fight terrorists, also sought proposals to make yet another specialised agency armed with special gadgets for security of the districts bordering the NWFP and Balochistan.

He also ordered an immediate suspension of the Special Branch superintendent of police (SP) for intelligence failure and the circle DSP for deploying only three constables to protect the thousands of participants of Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Husain in THE Muslim Town area of DG Khan. The officials of the police station have been suspended.

Viewing the events of Eid Miladunnabi and lawyers’ long march, Mr Sharif reactivated the cabinet committee which had worked in Muharram to maintain sectarian peace.

The police, from ASI down to constable, had been paid one-month salary as a bonus for their performance as no untoward incident happened during the mourning anywhere in Punjab.

He said he was concerned at the violation of standard operating procedures in DG Khan and sought a strict compliance of the standard strategy to maintain peace in all religious events.

The meeting decided to set up a trauma centre at DG Khan as the absence of it had resulted in many casualties after the Thursday’s suicide attack.

A special committee under the chair of senior adviser

Sirdar Zulfikar Khosa was made to prepare recommendations regarding establishment of a specialised force for border districts of Bhakkar, DG Khan, Rajanpur and Mianwali to curb incursion of militants from Balochistan and the NWFP.

The committee, consisting of law minister Rana Sanaullah and police officers, would submit its report in seven days.

As a contingency plan, the chief minister asked the inspector-general to deploy

Elite Force at patrolling posts in sensitive areas and reinforcing police check-posts there.

Some militants killed eight security men during an attack on a police patrol post in Mianwali on Saturday.

To spare the Elite Force for their deployment in the sensitive areas, he sought immediate withdrawal of deployment of the force for VIP security and instead hiring private guards for security duty for the purpose.

The IG was also asked to appoint ASPs instead DSPs in Essa Khel, Piplan, Taunsa, and other border towns.

The chief minister ordered a strict ban on use of loudspeakers except Azan and Juma sermon and action against the violators without any discrimination.

He said elected representatives should also be taken on board in this regard.

Also, IG Shaukat Javed has directed the DG Khan RPO and the DPO to relinquish charges and report to the police headquarters in Lahore.