LAHORE: The provincial capital police on Thursday got fourth Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations during the last one year with the appointment of SP Security Mohammad Naveed to the post.

The slot fell vacant after the premature transfer of last incumbent Faisal Shahzad 10 days after his appointment. Mr Shahzad’s transfer generated a controversy and created uncertainty among the officers regarding security of tenure provided under the Police Order 2002.

An official told Dawn that the police higher-ups discussed the pros and cons of previous appointments before bringing in new officer to fill the second key operational slot. The issue of premature transfers also came under discussion and Mr Naveed’s name was unanimously decided by the senior command of the Lahore police.

He said Capital City Police Officer B.A Nasir and DIG Operations Ashfaq Ahmad Khan recommended the appointment of Mohammad Naveed as SSP Operations to the IGP who endorsed the recommendation and issued order to appoint the BS-18 officer against the vacant slot. He said Mr Naveed was preferred for the slot because there was shortage of BS-19 police officers in Punjab due to delay in the promotion board meeting of BS-18 officers.

Secondly, he said, there were few officers in the Punjab police who had done Mid-Career Management Course (MCMC), a mandatory step for the officers of the federal and provincial government in BS-18 for promotion to the next scale. As a result, most BS-19 slots had been occupied by the BS-18 officers across the province, he said.

He said there was no bar to making appointment of BS-18 police officer against one-step senior position because there was no difference in the administrative and financial powers.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2019