LAHORE: The Punjab government on Thursday transferred and posted 14 senior police officers across the province and within the Central Police Office.

Some of the field postings have been filled in the light of a joint interview of 15 senior police officers held by the chief minister at his Model Town camp office on July 13.

According to a notification issued by the Services & General Administration Punjab, Additional IG Punjab Highways Patrol Sohail Khan was transferred and posted Additional IG Welfare & Finance vice Javed Islam who replaced Mr Khan as Additional IG PHP.

Deputy Commandant Punjab Constabulary DIG Syed Dilawar Abbas was transferred and posted Commandant Punjab Constabulary; DIG Monitoring Investigation Azhar Hameed Khokhar was posted DIG Discipline & Internal Investigation; DIG Training Tariq Masood Yaseen was transferred and posted DIG Monitoring Investigation Punjab; DIG Headquarters Muhammad Tahir was transferred and posted DIG Training in Yaseen’s place.

Similarly, DIG Operations Punjab Farooq Mazhar was transferred and posted DIG Headquarters and awaiting posting DIG Zaeem Iqbal Sheikh was posted DIG (Political) Special Branch Punjab.

In shuffles in field formations, the government transferred Faisalabad Regional Police Officer Muhammad Nawaz Warraich and posted him DIG Establishment Punjab while awaiting posting DIG Captain (retired) Ehsan Taufail replaced Mr Warraich; Gujranwala City Police Officer Raja Riffat Mukhtar was transferred and directed to report to the Central Police Office; Faisalabad City Police Officer Dr Haider Ashraf was transferred and posted Lahore DIG (Operations) vice Lahore acting DIG (Operations) SSP Muhammad Waqas Nazir who was transferred and posted Gujranwala CPO, whereas SSP Sohail Habib Tajik (who recent completed his Senior Management Course) was transferred and posted Faisalabad CPO.

Sources privy to the development told Dawn that most of the key transfers were made on the recommendation of the IGP contrary to past practices.

They said the CM Secretariat, which usually exerted ‘undue pressure’ on police authorities to transfer and post even DSPs (IGP’s sole authority) in field, was also found interfering in postings at the CPO at the cost of general policing.

Sources said IG Mushtaq Ahmad Sokhera, who was appointed in June this year and going to form his own team in all police formations, seemed determined to establish his writ in operational and administrative matters.

Meanwhile, the police authorities did not appoint the Chiniot district police officer on Thursday.

Published in Dawn, July 254th, 2014