KARACHI: Just five weeks after a major reshuffle in the police hierarchy, the Sindh government changed the city police chief again by bringing back Additional IG Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar in place of AIG Ghulam Qadir Thebo who has now been transferred and posted as AIG Traffic.

AIG Mahar was transferred and appointed as traffic police chief on July 17 amid reservation of some stakeholders about the targeted operations in the metropolis.

Ghulam Qadir Thebo has now become the new traffic police chief replacing AIG Mahar who has been reappointed as Additional IG Karachi, according to a notification issued by the services, general administration and coordination department of Sindh government on Thursday.

AIG Mushtaq Mahar returns as Karachi police chief

Before being appointed as the city police chief last month, Mr Thebo had been heading the Anti-Corruption Establishment.

Five Additional IGPs and four DIGs had been transferred and posted in a major shake-up that was seen as a move by political elites to ‘isolate’ incumbent IGP A.D. Khowaja. At that time, IGP Khowaja also had written a letter to Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to express his serious reservations over the transfers and postings of the police officers “in large numbers and without any consultation with the police department”.

Besides, the provincial police chief had also apprehended that frequent transfers and postings of officers in large numbers without any consultation with the senior police officers had been affecting police performance.

Sources privy to this development told Dawn that not only IGP Khowaja but other stakeholders of the Karachi operation were also not taken into ‘confidence’ by the Sindh government before making such major changes in the police hierarchy particularly in Karachi.

“Lack of consultation with all stakeholders of the Karachi operation appeared to be major reason behind transfer of Mr Thebo as Additional IG Karachi and reappointment of Mr Mahar as the police chief,” the sources explained.

According to them, this was an issue between the provincial government and the ‘establishment’, including the federal government, while the latter’s wish has ultimately prevailed.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2017