KARACHI: Three additional inspectors general of police (Addl. IGPs) stayed away from some public engagements of the new Sindh police chief, Raja Riffat Mukhtar, in what is being described as a form of silent protest over the appointment of a “junior officer” as their boss, it emerged on Monday.

IGP Riffat Mukhtar, a Grade-21 officer, assumed his new responsibilities on Sunday in pursuance of the Establishment Division’s notification issued on Aug 19, replacing Ghulam Nabi Memon as the provincial police chief.

On Monday, the new IGP arrived at Central Police Office (CPO), where he was given a guard of honour. He laid a wreath at the ‘martyrs’ memorial. Later, he held an introductory meeting with senior officers at his office.

Informed sources told Dawn that only one of the seven Addl. IGPs, Khadim Rind, attended the meeting and the guard-of-honour ceremony.

New police chief receives guard of honour at CPO

They said that three Addl. IGPs — Imran Yaqoob Minhas, Javed Alam Odho and Qadir Qayum — separately called on IGP Mukhtar and exchanged views with him.

However, the sources said that three other senior officers — Munir Shaikh, Farhat Junejo and Muzaffar Shaikh — did not meet their new boss.

‘Not an unusual thing’

A police source at the CPO told Dawn that it was not an ‘unusual’ thing that certain officers skipped a meeting as it had also happened in the past.

The source recalled that when A.D. Khowaja became the IGP-Sindh, three police officers — Ghulam Qadir Thebo, Khadim Husain Bhatti and Salman Syed — used to not attend the meetings chaired by him as they were senior to Mr Khowaja in the police service.

Also, Karachi police chief Addl. IG Javed Alam Odho denied that there was any ‘grouping’ in the police department.

“We are professional and there is no grouping,” he told the media. However, he spoke about a ‘decorum of seniority’ that he said should be given due consideration.

IGP calls for using technology in policing

According to a statement issued here, the new police chief told his subordinates during the maiden meeting that the force had to serve the masses’.

He asked the officers to consider it as their duty to demonstrate good behaviour with the general public and provide service to them.

The IGP said he wanted the same initiatives for the welfare of the policemen in Sindh that had been taken for their counterparts in Punjab.

“This is a modern era and we have to utilise technology,” the provincial police chief said, adding that all units of the police and their affairs had to be synchronised with the IT.

He also suggested for short-term and long-term planning for the ‘successful and effective policing’.

“We have to take steps for the welfare of the police and turn it into a people-friendly force jointly,” said the IGP.

The police statement said that senior officer at CPO attended the meeting.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2023