ISLAMABAD: The police force charged with protecting the capital city has, for the past two weeks, been functioning without a legally appointed inspector general (IG) or SSP Operations, sources in the Establishment Division and police department told Dawn.

The interior minister has allotted additional charge of the vacant IG position to Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Khalid Khattak, while Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Dr Sultan Azam Temuri is serving as the de facto SSP Operations. But neither can use these titles officially until the Establishment Division issues a notification formally announcing their elevation.

In what appears to be a case of the interior minister exceeding his authority, the erstwhile IG Sikandar Hayat and SSP Dr Mohammad Rizwan were sacked on March 26 and stop-gap appointments were made in their stead.

But the office of IG in Islamabad is of a Grade 20/21 and under Civil Service Rules and Estacode, only the prime minister can appoint someone, even in a caretaker capacity, to a Grade 20 position.

Sources within the Establishment Division confirmed that following the recommendation of the interior ministry and after obtaining approval from the Prime Minister Secretariat, the removal of former SSP Dr Rizwan and IG Hayat was notified on March 27 and April 1, respectively. However, there has been no notification regarding the award of additional charge against the vacated posts.

The downside of not being notified is that both officers, while discharging their daily duties and taking care of routine paperwork, cannot legally make appointments or decide transfers and postings within their jurisdiction – a function vital to the strategic management of police resources.

Both officers can sign the daily mail and look after procedural matters of the IG and SSP offices. While they also command the police force in the city by virtue of being the two senior-most officers in the city, they do not formally hold the rank of IG and SSP.

Sources revealed that despite these procedural roadblocks, both officers were discharging the functions of their new offices, in blatant disregard for rules and procedure. Dr Temuri has already transferred 16 SHOs in a period of 11 days.

These appointments do not have legal cover and can be challenged in court and are also liable to be reversed if the officer who gave the orders is replaced.

“The transfer and posting of SHOs is a power vested in the SSP Operations’ office under police rules, not the office of AIG,” an official told Dawn. DIG Khattak also attends meetings chaired by the interior minister to oversee joint operations in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. This, the officials maintain, is also against the rules.

Saleemullah Khan, a retired senior police officer and an advocate of the Supreme Court, told Dawn that additional charge can be given to officers at the local level, i.e. by the interior ministry. But even in such cases, a written notification is necessary.

But a former Islamabad police IG, talking to Dawn on condition of anonymity, said, “The appointment of an officer to any post of Grade 19 and above must be notified by the Establishment Division, no matter if it is additional charge or full charge. The local setup is authorised to hand out additional charge only to DSP-level officers.”