KARACHI: A group of 35 retired IGs of the Police Service of Pakistan have expressed concern over the way Sindh IGP A.D. Khowaja has been asked by the Sindh government to go on leave and termed the provincial government move unjustified.

In a statement sent to Dawn on Monday, the retired IGs said that the Sindh government’s action was unjustified and that an upright and professional officer was being forced to leave his job for not kowtowing to illegitimate wishes of some very influential persons.

They appealed to the prime minister and the chief minister not to allow “this premature transfer of an honourable police chief”.

They also requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take notice of what they called flagrant violation of the SC order passed in the Anita Turab case.

“It is high time to fix the tenure of IGs to ensure operational aut­onomy and depoliticisation of police services,” the statement said.

Syed Masud Shah, former IG of Punjab and KP; Afzal Ali Shigri, former IG of Sindh; Tariq Parvez, former DG of FIA; Shaukat Javed, former IG of Punjab; Tariq Khosa, former IG of Balochistan; and Iftikhar Ahmed, former IG of Islamabad, are among the IGs whose names have been mentioned in the statement.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2016