LAHORE: Punjab IGP Faisal Shahkar is facing a tough time as the federal government is demanding that he adopt a ‘go-slow policy’ whereas Parvez Elahi’s government is allegedly exerting pressure on him to have more ‘handpicked’ officers appointed as regional and district police officers.

The federal government has conveyed to the IGP its reservations over recent ‘political appointments’ in the province and ‘uncalled for action’ against many police officers. The authorities suggested him to exercise the legal and administrative powers vested in him in the transfers and postings instead of “toeing the line of the Punjab chief minister.”

On the other hand, the Punjab government had recently sent a list of the police officers to the IGP office for their appointment. It had also pointed out the ‘places of postings’ against the names of the police officers in the list.

Sources said the IGP declined to acquiesce in to the provincial government’s demand, saying frequent political appointments had already weakened his ‘command’ on the Punjab police force.

Federal, provincial govts allegedly issuing conflicting orders

Earlier, the IGP had reshuffled many senior officers on the desire and recommendation of the chief minister. Most appointments or removals were made in accordance with the ‘list’ provided by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to the Punjab government in the wake of May 25 ‘Azadi March’. The PTI had demanded removal of the then IGP, Rao Sardar Ali Khan, the then additional IGP Special Branch Punjab, the Lahore police chief, the DIG operations and some other officers, claiming that they were directly involved in lodging cases against PTI workers to stop them from participating in the march.

At that time, Rao Sardar was transferred and posted as IG Railways police when he refused to further serve as the provincial police chief. Other police officers were either surrendered to Islamabad or removed from the posts shortly after Parvez Elahi formed the government in Punjab.

A source said differences between the IGP and the chief minister had widened after the latter asked him for the appointment of some police officers as DPOs of Okara, Layyah, Sialkot, Rahim Yar Khan and Narowal. The IGP, the source said, had refused to make postings of the police officers as recommended by the government.

Mr Shahkar conveyed to the government that his department had already shortlisted some officers against the posts while considering their capacity to serve and his reaction had irked the chief minister, said the source.

Similarly, the source said, the IGP was under pressure for the replacement of three RPOs -- DG Khan, Bahawalpur and Sahiwal.

Mr Shahkar had earlier removed Sheikhupura SP investigation Nasir Bajwa from his post when the PTI raised the issue with the provincial government that the officer was involved in action against party’s leader Hammaz Azhar. Similarly, the IGP also recently transferred Sargodha SP investigation Akhlaqullah Tarar and made him an OSD. The officer prior to that was transferred from Lahore where he was serving as SP city division, on the same grounds.

Another BS-18 police officer, Safdar Raza Kazmi, who was serving as Civil Lines SP operations, had been removed and made an OSD when the PTI asked the provincial government to take action against him for misbehaving with an influential lawyer.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2022