KARACHI: Inspector General of Police A.D. Khowaja on Monday ordered an inquiry into the recent dismissal of 41 traffic policemen after their protest demonstration against the DIG Traffic outside his office in Garden police headquarters.

The protest, which was staged outside the DIG office on main Aga Khan III Road, caused traffic suspension on the busy artery, according to officials and witnesses.

The policemen were holding placards inscribed with their demand for the restoration of their services.

Nabi Bux SHO Saeed Akhter told Dawn that the 41 traffic policemen, including constables, head constables and section officers, had been dismissed from service over their failure to stop the movement of heavy vehicles on roads across the city during daytime.

The protesting traffic policemen told the media that they had been subjected to ‘injustice’ and discrimination, as heavy traffic tended to move towards the city centre from several entry points but no action had been taken against the traffic policemen deployed there.

Besides, they claimed, eight out of the 41 dismissed traffic policemen had already been on leave while four others were performing security duty.

They later ended their protest when DIG Traffic Asif Aijaz Shaikh invited them for talks, added the SHO Nabi Bux.

Talking to media at his office, DIG Shaikh said that action had been taken against the traffic policemen on the direction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, as the traffic officials had failed to prevent movement of heavy vehicles on roads in the city during daytime.

The officer claimed that a ‘proper procedure’ was followed for their dismissal.

Meanwhile, the IGP took notice of the protest of the traffic policemen against the DIG Traffic and appointed Additional IG Sindh Dr Aftab Pathan as inquiry officer to probe the matter. He asked him to submit a detailed inquiry report with recommendations to improve working conditions of police and redress their genuine grievances.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2017