LAHORE: Following the Supreme Court decision about Hamza Shahbaz’s election as the Punjab chief minister, newly-appointed IGP Faisal Shahkar will be the immediate ‘victim’ as the apex court, in its 11-page verdict, has declared all appointments made by PML-N leader Hamza “null and void”.

Mr Shahkar will be an ‘unlucky police officer’ who has served as IGP for the shortest period of 24 hours only as he had assumed charge of his new office on July 25.

Some senior police officers say it is the worst time for the largest police force of the country, saying uncertainty has gripped the police officers since the political instability hit Punjab due to litigations.

The regional and district police officers are feeling themselves insecure due to the political crisis and many of them have stopped taking interest due to uncertainty, they say.

Reshuffle will be made in light of SC verdict

“An elite power struggle and a battle between two leading political parties to grab the chief minister slot has seriously affected the provincial police affairs,” a senior police official commented.

He said that from amongst over 40 departments, it were the police who bear the brunt of regime change.

Following Tuesday’s verdict of the three-member bench of the Supreme Court, he said, the next government of the PTI in Punjab would immediately bring the police officers of its choice. “And appointment of new IGP would be its first step,” the police official said.

Faisal Shahkar was appointed by the PML-N as new IGP on July 24 when Rao Sardar Ali Khan refused to serve as provincial police chief “due to the derogatory remarks passed by some PTI leaders against him”.

The new Punjab chief minister would make appointment of new provincial police chief, RPOs and DPOs of the province, he said, adding that another massive reshuffle in the largest police force of the country would surely deepen the crisis in the police department.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2022