QUETTA: The implementation in Balochistan of the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism may be affected by a shortage of senior police officers because the establishment division is not sending replacement of those transferred to Sindh and Punjab.

Several officers of the Police Service of Pakistan have been sent back to Sindh and Punjab after completing their two-year service in Balochistan and the provincial government has requested the establishment division to send new officers to replace them.

“Many letters have been sent to the establishment division for sending replacement of transferred officers,” an official told Dawn on Sunday.

Also read: Implementation of NAP is government's responsibility: PM

Official sources said the establishment division had also sought a list of PSP officers who had completed their tenure in Balochistan and the provincial government had sent it repeatedly but the authorities in Islamabad were not transferring them.

They said the establishment division had adopted a policy of ‘pick and choose’ and transferred some officers who had not completed two years in Balochistan.

“Ignoring rules in this regard is creating resentment among the PSP officers who have completed their two-year mandatory service in Balochistan but have not been posted back to their home provinces,” the sources said.

“Many PSP officers who have completed their tenure of service are waiting for their transfer to their provinces,” a Balochistan government officer said, adding that instead of sending replacement of the transferred officers from Sindh and Punjab, at least five senior police officers had been transferred here from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The sources said the Balochistan Services and General Administration Department and police chief had written several letters to the establishment division, seeking new officers for the province.

They said another instance of discrimination on part of the establishment division was that PSP officers sent to Balochistan had not been promoted in accordance with an established tradition.

“The period of training or keeping an officer on special duty during the posting in Balochistan is not counted in the tenure of service in the province,” a senior police officer said.

Published in Dawn March 9th , 2015

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