RAWALPINDI: In line with directives from the inspector general of the Punjab police (IGP), 79 inspector-rank police officers have been posted out of the Rawalpindi division as none of them had been posted in their home districts.

Sources said 85 police inspectors from Lahore and Gujranwala had replaced the 79 outgoing inspectors, who have been posted to Lahore and Gujranwala.

In a directive, the IGP had asked regional and district police officers to follow transfer and posting orders to achieve transparent and fair elections.

The police have also been directed not to post any police officer to his home district and not to let politics interfere with posting and transfers.

While posting, station house officers (SHO) inspector-rank officers are to be given priority.

It was previously common for sub-inspectors to be posted as SHOs in police stations in Rawalpindi district, but the police have now been directed to prioritise inspectors instead.

When contacted, a senior police officer posted to Lahore from Rawalpindi in the reshuffle told Dawn that after the reshuffle, the police had little to do with crime and were only to conduct free and fair elections on July 25.

“We have been concentrating to ensure the fair elections these days, as we are not concerned with crimes,” the superintendent of police said.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2018