LAHORE: Following the retirement of the Balochistan inspector general of police (IGP), a BPS-21 officer from Punjab has reportedly declined the offer of the federal government to be appointed in the southwestern province of the country, Dawn has learnt.

Sources said that Balochistan IGP Moazzam Jah, a BPS-22 officer, is retiring from the services on Aug 4. They said the name of Additional IG Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab Wasim Sial was picked up as the best choice to be posted as Balochistan police chief due to his experience and expertise in handling terrorism.

The higher authorities believed that various terrorists’ groups operating in Balochistan had posed a significant threat to the peace of the province and an officer with experience in handling anti-state elements could better achieve the required targets. However, Mr Sial refused the offer as he wanted to continue to serve in Punjab, the official said.

Quoting some senior officers close to Waseem Sial, the source added that he (Sial) preferred to be posted as the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO), the second most important position after the IGP in Punjab, rather than assuming any office out of the province.

In the past, his name had been circulating in the power circles for the CCPO Lahore following some rumours of transfer of Bilal Siddique Kamyana (current Lahore police chief). However, Mr Kamyana managed to retain his position.

On the other hand, some police officers have started lobbying for three top slots of the district police officers (DPOs) in Punjab.

The source said the Punjab government, in consultation with the provincial police chief, had picked up some police officers during the last two weeks. As the process was underway, some ‘powerful elites’ conveyed to Punjab that they had finalised the name of a police officer for his posting as DPO Attock, leaving the matter of appointment of the DPOs of two other districts at the disposal of the provincial government.

The source said posting of the DPO Gujrat had become a challenging task for the CPO and the Punjab government as well due to the involvement of the local political leaders of the PML-N who wanted the posting of an officer of choice.

The source said the PML-N parliamentarians from Gujrat had shared the name of a police officer from the ranks for his posting as the head of the district after the retirement of SP Mustansar Atta Bajwa on June 30 who was also from the rank officers. The top position of Gujrat police has become a ‘musical chair’ when more police officers entered the race by using influence.

Similarly, the CPO is reportedly considering some officers for the post of the DPO DG Khan that will fall vacant. The current head of the district police, Syed Ali, is going abroad for study on Aug 25, said the source, adding that a final list of the police officers in this regard would be sent to the Punjab government in days to come.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2025