ISLAMABAD: Appa­ren­t­ly appeasing the disgruntled government allies in Sindh, Prime Minister Imran Khan changed his decision on the appointment of a new inspector general of police in the province as during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday he asked Governor Imran Ismail to again sit with Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to resolve the issue.

The issue of price hike was one of the main agenda items of the meeting and the prime minister expressed his anger over the unprecedented inflation in the country.

Although the attendance of cabinet members was thin, the prime minister expressed his astonishment over the absence of disgruntled Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader and Information Technology Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui from the meeting. Other cabinet members who were absent included Housing Minister Tariq Basheer Cheema, Minister of State for Narcotics Shehr­yar Afridi, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Comm­erce Abdul Razzak Dawood and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari.

“On reservations expre­ss­ed by members of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders from Karachi, the prime minister rejected the proposed appointment of Mush­taq Mahar as new Sindh IGP and asked Governor Ismail to sit with CM Shah and resolve the issue,” SAPM on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said in a post-cabinet meeting press conference.

Expresses anger over galloping inflation; cabinet approves import of 300,000 tonnes wheat to overcome crisis

Prime Minister Khan had on Monday met Sindh CM Shah and after the meeting the media reported that both agreed on replacement of incumbent IG Kaleem Imam with Mushtaq Mahar, another senior officer of the Police Services of Pakistan.

According to a source, PM Imran has called IG Imam to the Prime Minister Office on Wednesday [today] to discuss the reservations by the PPP-led Sindh government over his working.

However, IG Imam’s remarks at a ceremony of the Sindh Police Martyrs Memorial at Central Police Office in Karachi added fuel to the fire. He said he would not be transferred from his position so easily and that a big conspiracy was being hatched against him. “The impression being created is that I have been transferred and this ceremony has been transformed into a transfer ceremony. I would like to say that I will not be transferred that easily,” IG Imam added. If I do go, it will not be a transfer — in fact it will be a new evolution. I will transcend on to new stages.”

On Monday, Prime Minister Khan reportedly gave a “positive gesture” to the Sindh chief minister’s request for replacing IG Imam. The opposition believed that the prime minister had again taken a U-turn on the matter and changed his decision to appoint Mushtaq Mahar as new Sindh IG.

A source privy to the cabinet meeting told Dawn that the prime minister was of the view that if the Sindh government was made responsible for maintaining peace and order in the province, it should have a right to appoint an official of its choice as IG.

SAPM Awan said some leaders of the GDA and PTI were of the view that Mr Mahar has some political affiliations and an apolitical person should be appointed as IGP. “After consultation between the prime minister and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Mushtaq Mahar’s name had been suggested [in the cabinet meeting] for the Sindh IGP position, but cabinet members from the province strongly opposed the idea,” she said, adding that keeping in mind the majority view, the prime minister had asked the Sindh governor to discuss the matter with the chief minister.

PPP reaction

Pakistan Peoples Party’s deputy information secretary Palwasha Khan said in a statement that Kaleem Imam was violating service rules. “IGs are also changed in other provinces as well, but IGs of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan do not hold press conferences,” she said. Ms Khan said Murad Ali Shah was an elected chief minister and his opinion would have to be respected. “In Sindh, IGP Syed Kaleem Imam has become a politician and [is] opposing the provincial government; however, his prime responsibility is to restore peace in which he has totally failed,” she said.

Unprecedented inflation

According to the source, Prime Minister Khan expressed his anger when Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar informed the cabinet meeting that inflation had gone up to 16.1 per cent in the country. “I am being misguided on the issue and, therefore, I want a closed door meeting with Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, and Asad Umar to ascertain the reasons behind skyrocketing prices,” Mr Khan was quoted as having said.

The prime minister said he would soon get an inquiry report on the recent crisis of wheat flour in the country and warned that he would take stern action against those found responsible for the shortage of the commodity.

Ms Awan said the cabinet had approved import of 300,000 tonnes of wheat to overcome the crisis. However, Minister for Shipping Ali Zaidi said the consignment of imported wheat could not reach the country before 45 days and by that time the local crop would be ready.

In view of the prevailing sugar crisis, the meeting also decided to import sugar to meet the growing demand in the country and keep its price stable.

The meeting decided that the money spent on rulers and their children’s extravaganza in the past would be recovered.

The cabinet asked the housing ministry to revisit its decision to have an agreement with China Gezhouba Group of Companies for construction of five million housing units in the country under Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme. “Some of the cabinet members have some reservations regarding transparency in process of award of a contract for construction of five million housing units in the country to the Chinese firm on a single bid basis and, therefore, it was decided that process should be made more transparent and flawless,” Ms Awan said.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2020