A Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) officer, hailing from Sindh, has won the hearts and minds of people in the country’s extreme north by turning down an attractive post-retirement package offered by the cash-strapped Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government.

Ever since Inspector General of Police (IGP) AJK Bashir Ahmed Memon turned down the retirement package, social media has been flooded with comments praising his “exceptional” gesture in a society where the majority of the government servants are notorious for securing benefits out of the official kitty.

At the same time, the PML-N led AJK government is also under scathing criticism for “doling out taxpayers’ money” in sheer disregard to its tall claims on fiscal and administrative reforms.

It was on March 28, when the AJK Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) clandestinely issued a notification to supplement the facilities admissible to the chief secretaries under an earlier notification issued on June 15, 2006, when the region was reeling from the aftereffects of a devastating earthquake.

Through the June 15, 2006, notification, which was renewed on June 4, 2011, the chief secretaries were offered the services of a cook and a driver for the lifetime, after their retirement, from the AJK taxpayers’ money.

The March 28 notification not only added 800 free local phone calls, 800 units of electricity, 25 cubic hectometres (25million cubic metre) gas and 200 litres petrol per month to the post-retirement benefits of the chief secretaries but it went on to declare the admissibility of the same benefits to the IGPs as well, after their retirement.

The chief secretaries and IGPs are posted in AJK by the federal government under Karachi Agreement of 1949 for a tenure that has rarely exceeded three years. They are commonly referred to as ‘lent officers.’

While the chief secretaries, already enjoying the services of cook and driver, were happy with the additional facilities, the response of IGP Memon to the notification not only baffled the government but it also plunged her to a moral low ground, sources within the bureaucracy confided to this scribe.

“Prima facie, these privileges would amount to putting an additional burden on the exchequer of the state [AJK],” Memon maintained in a letter to Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, a copy of which was obtained by Dawn.

“The AJK IGPs belong to the Police Service of Pakistan (group) and their services are acquired from the federal government for a limited period, during which they enjoy all those perks and privileges admissible to this office… And I also draw an attractive salary and other benefits for my services here,” he added.

Continuing, Memon said holding the office of IGP and leading the police force in AJK with honour and dignity was in itself a great privilege and a matter of pride for him.

“I am thankful to the Almighty as well as the government and people of Azad Kashmir for the love and respect I enjoy here and does not consider myself worthy of these benefits, particularly when the AJK police is already facing acute shortage of manpower,” Memon said, and called upon Haider to revoke the notification from the date of issuance.

When contacted, Memon confirmed that he had asked the government to withdraw the notification in the wake of its poor fiscal health and pressing local needs.

He said he earnestly believed that there was no justification for the ‘lent officers’ to claim these benefits from the AJK exchequer, a place where they served for a short term.

“To me, my constable serving in front of Indian guns along the Line of Control or the families of retired junior grade police personnel deserve this amount more than a retired IGP,” he maintained.

Civil society was all praise for Memon.

“Hats off to Memon. He has touched our hearts and taught a lesson to the local official machinery which always runs for more and more perks and privileges,” said Arisha Ali Khan, an MPhil student from Mirpur.

Defending the decision, AJK Minister for Finance Dr Najeeb Naqi maintained that since all other provinces, particularly Punjab, were offering same or more benefits to retired chief secretaries and IGPs, “we have just replicated them”.

When he was reminded that unlike Punjab, AJK faced acute shortage of funds every month, even for payment of salaries and pension, he claimed that "the additional funds for these benefits would also be provided by the central government”.

But there was hardly any voice in favour of the government.

“The IGP’s response is a slap in the face of a government that has gone back on its promises to curtail unnecessary expenditures,” remarked Raja Mansoor, a civil society activist from Muzaffarabad.

“In fact the IGP has exposed the duplicity of this deficit ridden government that flatters lent officers with generous offers in spite of carrying a begging bowl to seek funds from Islamabad,” he added.

It may be mentioned here that the AJK government has been facing an “accumulative shortfall” of about Rs25 billion in its receipts and expenditures since 2009-10.

Every month, payment of salaries and pensions turns out be a thorn in the side of the government as State Bank of Pakistan stops clearance of its cheques when it exceeds its overdraft limit of Rs 4.5 billion.

A ruling PML-N's supporter was among those who showered praise on Memon.

“By refusing to accept these perks, Memon has tried his bit to inculcate some sense among us. He will always be appreciated and remembered by us for his professionalism, humility and compassion,” said Sohail Iqbal Awan, a resident of Muzaffarabad.

Memon, who hails from Hala in Mitiari district, was posted as AJK IGP in March 2016.

Unlike most of his predecessors, he is thoroughly unpretentious and moves around without police escorts.

During the days of his posting in Sindh, he had faced three transfers in three years reportedly due to his straightforwardness.