HYDERABAD, July 1: Hours before the announcement of the local body elections schedule by the Acting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Mr Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, a massive reshuffle of police officers in Hyderabad region was ordered of the provincial home department. In all, 46 police officers, including two DPOs, three ASPs and inspectors and sub-inspectors were transferred in the entire region.

According to an authoritative police source, lists of transfers and postings of police officers ranging from the sub-inspector to the DPO, were sent by the Sindh home ministry for immediate compliance.

“Police authorities were asked to ensure compliance of orders for postings of new police officers in place of their predecessors as soon as possible which led to an emergency-like situation at the RPO’s offices,” a police department source said.

All other work had to be suspended in the RPO office in order to ensure that all officers took over charge before election schedule was announced in the afternoon.

DPOs, Ghulam Hyder Jamali of Hyderabad and Altaf Hussain Bhatti of Mirpurkhas have been replaced by the Deputy Director of Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Ali Ahmed Junejo, and former Deputy Director ACE, Nazeer Ahmed Sheikh.

The latter was working on two years extension after having retired from his ACE service.

“The Sindh government had initially opposed the policy of extension but later it opted for the same”, said a source.

Three officers of Police Services of Pakistan (PSP) in Latifabad, Site and City have also been replaced by rankers.

Inspectors Ayub Durrani, Ahmed Qureshi and Mukhtiar Solangi have respectively replaced ASP Pervez Chandio as TPO Latifabad, ASP Younus Chandio as TPO Site and ASP Khurram Shahzad as TPO city.

Inspector Zia Chohan, DSP Faisal Noor (earlier working as DSP Tando Mohammad Khan), DSP Arif Ali Khan (transferred from Karachi) have been posted as TPO Site, TPO Phulelli and TPO Qasimabad respectively.

SHOs of only seven police stations Fort, City, Sakhi Pir, Pinyari, Hussainabad, B-section and women police station have not been touched for unspecified reasons.

“The transfers and postings are an administrative matter and wherever it was found necessary these have been ensured”, RPO Hyderabad Bachal Sangri told Dawn over phone.

“Inspectors are working as TPO all over Sindh. Although DSP was a full-fledged post but the inspectors would work on their own pay and scale”, a police source said and added that the orders for posting of officers were issued form the provincial home ministry with place of their postings mentioned against their names.

Two officers including SHO Jamshoro Inspector, Ayub Brohi, were also to be transferred but since their new place of posting was not mentioned in the fax order, thus he was allowed to continue.

“When the RPO is not being taken into confidence for postings of his subordinates how is he supposed to control them given the fact that the local bodies elections are just round the corner”, said a TPO, transferred from Hyderabad.

It was also learnt that additional DPO, Afzal Mehmood But has also been transferred but officer, Gohar Nafees (who once served here as TPO Cantonment) was reluctant to join here as he is working in Frontier Constabulary (FC) as District Officer FC Ogi, NWFP.

“He has been posted there 15-days back and is quite comfortable and why he would come back to Sindh police”, said a source.

Even those police officers have been posted who did not have any knowledge of their area, such as TPO Qasimabad, who was transferred from Karachi.

Muttaheda Majlis-e-Amal MPA Abdul Rehman Rajput, in a statement on Friday rapped Sindh government for massing transfers and postings ahead of local bodies elections and after announcement of LB polls schedule. “I think Chie Election Commissioner should take notice of it that such a large number of police officers who were favourite of ruling party have been posted”, he said.

He further said that opposition have expressed their apprehensions that government would resort to such tactics and their fears proved correct.

He added that it had also been proved that police would be controlling authority in the elections when it comes to law and order situation.

He said most of the police officers were in fact favourites of a ruling party.