LAHORE, Feb 7: The Punjab government on Thursday transferred and posted five senior police officers, including the capital city police officer of Lahore.
The shake-up is an important administrative move ahead of the interim setup.
According to a notification issued by the Punjab Services & General Administration Department, Sargodha Region RPO DIG Amjad Javed Saleemi has been transferred and posted Lahore CCPO in his own pay and scale.
The provincial police got two new regional police officers and a city police officer contrary to the police circles’ perception that the government would not make big changes before the constitution of the interim government which is expected in a few weeks.
Sources say the posts of Multan RPO and Lahore CCPO have been filled after nine months and five days respectively and the government has appointed two junior officers on these slots in violation of the Police Order 2002.
They say the Order binds the government to post a police officer not below the rank of additional inspector general of police as CCPO and a police officer not below the rank of DIG as city police officer.
The notification further said DIG Headquarters Central Police Office Punjab Muhammad Amlish had been transferred and posted Sargodha region RPO.
DIG Research & Development Central Police Office Punjab Muhammad Tahir has been transferred and posted DIG Headquarters CPO Punjab.
Multan CPO Muhammad Aamir Zulfikar Khan, who was holding additional charge of the post of Multan RPO, has been transferred and posted RPO against an existing vacancy.
Sargodha DPO Dr Muhammad Rizwan has been transferred and posted Multan CPO in his own pay and scale vice Mr Khan.
Sources told Dawn that Mr Saleemi had got new posting after he showed his willingness to work as CCPO even for a month or so ahead of the interim setup. They said Mr Saleemi, who was posted Lahore DIG (Operations) by the PPP-led government during the Governor’s Rule in March 2009 and supervised the security arrangements to ‘restrict’ the PML-N government from proceeding with the long march, had been credited with the third important field posting by the chief minister.
Mr Saleemi remained in Punjab after the restoration of the PML-N provincial government in April 2009 and got two important postings as Sahiwal and Sargodha RPO.
Sources also claimed SSP Dr Rizwan had been posted Multan CPO as reward for his “out of the way” police action against Sargodha-based PPP leader Aslam Midhyana in connection with a teacher torture case. M. Rizwan’s three transfers outside Punjab by the Establishment Division had been resisted by the provincial government in the last one year or so, they said.
They said Mr Rizwan would be the city police chief of Multan city district which is the hometown of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. His services had been sought by the FIA head, they added. Sources also said Mr Rizwan, who is considerably junior (BS-19) officer among others posted in Punjab, had got posting against the ‘will’ of acting IG Khan Beg.