LAHORE: Another superintendent of police (SP) posted in Lahore has been made an officer on special duty (OSD) allegedly at the behest of a political figure, opening a new round of debate on the powers of the IGP in the transfers and postings of the officers vested in him under the Police Order 2002.

Cantonment Division SP (Operations) Abdullah Lak was made an OSD late on Sunday night after an influential politician reportedly called IGP Arif Nawaz to remove him from his position for not addressing his ‘personal matter’ on a priority.

The young police officer belongs to a reputed family and enjoys respect in the police circles for his honesty, a senior police officer told Dawn. He said Mr Lak is the son of senior police officer Mehar Khalid Dad Lak who is currently serving as the national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) Pakistan.

Third police officer to have incurred wrath of influential figures

He is the third SP from Lahore who has been ‘shown the door’ on the political pressure during the last couple of weeks, the official said.

Earlier, SPs Maaz Zafar and Syed Ali had faced ‘punishment’ of being made OSDs after they booked notorious criminals. One of the criminals, Haji Ismail, was involved in 58 cases of heinous crime registered in various police stations.

In the latest case, the Cantt SP was made an OSD 22 days after his posting in Lahore.

An official source said the politician in the saddle called Abdullah Lak late on Sunday night and showed his displeasure over not addressing the matter he had referred to him a couple of days back. He said the politician wanted action against a station house officer (SHO) who allegedly misbehaved with a person who was said to be an employee of his friend.

He said Mr Lak was directed to call his staff officer to get details of the incident for speedy action against the SHO. The SP, however, requested him to send the complainant to his office for an inquiry into the allegation before taking action against the SHO.

Mr Lak’s reply irritated the politician who probably wanted action against the SHO before the next day, the official said. He later took up the matter late in the night with the IGP who issued an order to make the SP an OSD “for not managing the issue at his level effectively and professionally,” the source said.

He said CCPO BA Nasir tried to rescue the SP after the matter came to his knowledge but to no avail.

The official said the action against the Cantt SP on political pressure created unrest among the police officers.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2019