LAHORE, Jan 16: The Punjab IGP would enjoy the status of an ex-officio secretary with full administrative and financial powers. The provincial home department would nevertheless continue to act as the administrative wing of police, official sources informed Dawn here on Thursday.

They said the decision had been taken at a meeting presided over by Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi earlier in the day and was expected to end the tug-of-war between the police and bureaucracy over power-sharing under the Police Order issued by the Musharraf government last year.

The powers of the police and the home department were to be decided through an amendment to the rules of business which were passed by Governor Khalid Maqbool some hours before the swearing-in of the chief minister last month.

The Punjab chief secretary and home and local government secretaries had not attended the meeting on grounds that they were busy in making arrangements for the oath of the new chief secretary.

The transfer of the then IGP Malik Asif Hayat and DIG (Establishment) Tariq Khosa soon after the induction of the present government was stated to be the result of these officers’ insistence on seeking independent status for the police department.

According to the sources, the decision to keep the home department as an administrative wing of police would materialize through amendments in related laws.

The IGP would enjoy all the administrative and financial powers delegated to any administrative secretary under the law, but policy files would be sent to the chief minister for approval through the home department.

The IGP would be free to spend the allocated budget, but the powers to grant a proprietary certificate (authority to purchase items of a certain brand) would remain with the home department.

“The IGP would be an ex-officio secretary but not the government. His autonomy would be like that of the autonomous hospitals who are not the government but a part of it. Police are a fighting arm of the government and not the government itself.”

The sources said the IGP would enjoy all operational powers needed to run his department efficiently. However, police would remain attached to the parent home department.

Regarding the administrative powers of the IGP, they said, the government (home department) would continue to act as the appointing authority for officers of BS-17 and above.

However, the sources said, the meeting had decided to make the IGP a permanent member of the board for promotions from BS-16 to 17 and 17 to 18, which would still be headed by the provincial chief secretary.

Previously, the IGP was not a member of the board and his presence at its meetings was subject to the pleasure of the chief secretary.

The meeting decided to authorise the IGP to take disciplinary action against DSPs. The additional IGP would have the authority to promote inspectors as DSPs.

Police misconduct and misbehaviour with people would be considered an offence. Similarly, wrong investigation would also be a punishable offence.

The law department had been asked to provide some legal framework for awarding punishment to the offenders.

Meanwhile, according to an official handout, the chief minister said the police department was being transformed into a public service organization.

He asked the police officers to forget the colonial concept of governance.

He said his government was preparing police for justice and decency to people and would take action against those failing to reduce the crime rate in the province.