LAHORE: The Punjab government has removed Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Director General Ejaz Hussain Shah (BS-22) reportedly over his “poor performance”.

Mr Shah was appointed on March 4 this year as the ACE DG and a decision to make him officer on special duty some four months later has raised eyebrows of many senior officers. He was directed to report to the Services & General Administration Department for further order, said the notification issued on Thursday.

The development came at a time when Mr Shah was dealing with several high-level inquiries against the leaders of the PML-N.

An official told Dawn that the government was unhappy over the `slow’ pace of work on many cases pending within the department. He said Mr Shah was` not following’ the instructions to speedily dispose of cases.

The higher-ups were quite satisfied with the performance of former ACE DG Hussain Asghar and wanted Ejaz Hussain Shah to follow his spirit of work.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had an exclusive meeting with Mr Shah on May 4 during his visit to Lahore and directed him to take indiscriminate action against corrupt elements. A week before his arrest on July 1, PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah had claimed in a TV talk show that the premier had given the ACE DG a task to frame him in some case.

The government has appointed BS-20 police officer (awaiting posting) DIG Goher Nafees from the 27th common as new DG in Punjab. Mr Nafees, the official said, had been held guilty in an inquiry launched against him on charges he faced when he was serving as the district police officer of Sialkot in 2014.

The official said the inquiry was conducted by Hussain Asghar when he was the Commandant of Punjab Constabulary. As the charges proved against Mr Nafees, the matter was sent to the Establishment Division, Islamabad, for further action, he said.

Consequent to the charges he faced, Mr Nafees could not get promotion from BS-19 to 20, the official said. However, his colleagues from 17th common were promoted to the rank of BS-20. Mr Nafees got promotion some two years later, he said.

The Punjab government has also transferred ACE Punjab Additional Director General Abdul Rab and directed him to report to the S&GAD for further orders. The official said BS-20 police officer Mr Rab was already working against BS-19 slot.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2019