LAHORE: The Punjab caretaker government changed almost all district police officers (DPOs) of the province, and also sent nine others out of the province, placing their services at the disposal of the Establishment Division (ED), Islamabad.

Of the nine police officers, one is in BS-21, five in BS-20, while others are serving in BS-19 and BS-18.

However, there is an impression that the caretaker government has relieved them from Punjab due to their “affiliation with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the PML-Q”.

Some officers have termed the repatriation of the police officers to the ED ‘an election-related decision’, saying it is a “routine activity” before every general election in the country.

In 2018, they say, some 12 to 15 police officers were transferred out of Punjab, while some officers claimed the caretaker government sent the DIG-rank officers out of the province for adjustment of seats. There were also reports that some DIGs were serving against above BS-20 slots (total 40) in Punjab, declaring it a seat adjustment matter.

However, according to some reports, most of these nine police officers were professionally neutral, but were transferred out of Punjab due to ‘internal politics or leg-pulling within the police department’.

Citing example of BS-21 officer Farooq Mazhar, who was serving as Punjab additional IG, police welfare, an official source said despite his neutrality and professional approach, he was sent out of Punjab because of lobbying by some officers in the Central Police Office (CPO). Similarly, the source said, the BS-19 officer Mubashar Makken was surrendered to the ED because of the department’s internal politics.

Four other DIGs, who have been relieved from Punjab -- Munir Masood Marth, Dr Mohammad Akhtar Abbas, Mohammad Saleem and Ahmad Jamalur Rehman -- were also considered as neutral officers.

Of the nine police officers, a DIG-rank officer, Agha Mohammad Yousaf, was reportedly transferred allegedly for having affiliation with the PTI and PML-Q, while BS-18 officer Bilal Qayyum was repatriated to the ED allegedly due to influence of a strong lobby active against him in the Police Service of Pakistan (PSPs).

The official source said Mr Qayyum was first transferred out of Sindh in the start of his career after he unearthed a scam of ‘smuggled patrol’ that was to be supplied to some patrol pumps in Karachi, allegedly owned by an additional IG. Later, he was many times transferred prematurely in Punjab from one post to another and finally he has been relieved from the province.

About the appointment of new DPOs, the government has issued a notification, completing the transfer/posting process in Punjab ahead of the general elections, as per the directions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The source said the new DPOs were posted in the districts a day after Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi interviewed over 30 police officers in BS-18 and BS-19 at the CM Secretariat.

Inspector General of Punjab Police Dr Usmn Anwar, secretary to the CM Sumair Ahmad and DIG Headquarters Humayun Bashir Tarrar were also in the panel that interviewed the officers.

According to a notification issued on Friday, Sargodha DPO Tariq Aziz has been transferred and posted as Kasur DPO vice Imran Karamat Bukhari who has been made an officer on special duty (OSD); Lahore CTD SSP Asim Iftikhar has been transferred and posted as Nankana Sahib DPO vice Sardar Mavarhan Khan who has been made OSD; Punjab Special Branch admin SSP Zeeshan Raza has been transferred and posted as Sialkot DPO vice Mohammad Faisal who has been transferred and posted as Sargodha DPO; Battalion Commander PC Lahore Rana Tahirur Rehman has been transferred and posted as Narowal DPO vice Wahid Mahmood who has been transferred and posted as Chakwal DPO vice Kamran Nawaz who has been made OSD; Punjab AIG Disclipine Umar Farooq has been transferred and posted as Khanewal DPO vice Naeem Aziz who has been made OSD; Punjab Investigation Branch SP Asad Muzaffar has been transferred and posted as Gujrat DPO vice an existing vacancy; awaiting posting Ghias Gull Khan has been transferred and posted as Attock DPO vice Fazl-i-Hamid who has been made OSD; awaiting posting Nasir Mahmood Bajwa has been transferred and posted as Jhelum DPO vice Dr Fahad Ahmad who has been transferred and posted as Hafizabad DPO vice Mazhar Iqbal who has been directed to report to the CPO; Chiniot SP investigation Matiullah has been transferred and posted as Mianwali DPO vice Mohammad Naveed who has been transferred and posted as Bhakkar DPO vice Mohammad Ajmal who has been made OSD; Lahore police school intelligence SSP Shaista Nadeem has been transferred and posted as Khushab DPO vice Asadur Rehman who has been made OSD; Rawalpindi Operations SSP Wasim Riaz has been transferred and posted as Chiniot DPO vice Imran Ahmed Malik who has been made OSD; Rawalpindi police training school SSP Arif Shahbaz has been transferred and posted as Toba Tek Singh DPO vice Rana Shoaib who has been made OSD; Rawalpindi CIA SP Malik Tariq Mahmood has been transferred and posted as Jhang DPO vice Mohammad Akmal who has been made OSD; Talagang DPO Hassan Bin Iqbal has been transferred and posted as Lodhran DPO vice Kashif Aslam who has been made OSD; Punjab Special Branch Lahore region SSP Mansoor Aman has been transferred and posted as Okara DPO vice Furqan Bilal who has been made OSD; Bahawalnagar DPO Esa Sukhera has been transferred and posted as Vehari DPO vice Zafar Buzdar who has been made OSD; Punjab IGP PSO Faisal Shahzad has been transferred and posted as Sahiwal DPO vice Saqib Hussain who has been made OSD; Lahore PC Battalion Commanader Hassan Bilal has been transferred and posted as Pakpatan DPO vice Tausif Haider who has been made OSD; Faisalabad Region Investigation Branch SSP Mohammad Abbas has been transferred and posted as Bahawalpur DPO vice Abadit Nisar who has been made OSD; awaiting posting Rizwan Umer Gondal has been posted as Rahim Yar Khan DPO vice Akhtar Farooq who has been made OSD; and awaiting posting Raza Safdar Kazmi has been transferred and posted as Muzafargarrh DPO vice Ahmad Nawaz Shah who has been made OSD.

Meanwhile, Murree and Kot Addu DPOs Fraz Ahmad and Tanveer Ahmad Malik have also been transferred and made OSDs. No postings were made against them to fill the vacant slots.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2023