LAHORE: The Punjab government has appointed DIG Bilal Siddique Kamyana the Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) here on Thursday.

He was among over a dozen senior police officers who were repatriated from Punjab to the Establishment Division, Islamabad, during the tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government “for being close to the PML-N”.

An official said these police officers were sent out of the province in the wake of a “clash” between then Lahore CCPO Umar Sheikh and IGP Shoaib Dastagir. He said Mr Sheikh had complained to Imran Khan that these officers were politically aligned with the PML-N.

The PM Secretariat had not only removed Shoaib Dastagir from the IGP post but also issued direction to repatriate other police officers including Zulfiqar Hameed, B.A Nasir, Hamayun Bashir Tarrar and Bilal Siddique Kamyana. Some of them were posted in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while few others got appointments in the federal capital.

Mr Kamyana served against various positions in the federal institutes, he said, adding that he last served as deputy commandant at the National Police Academy. The official further said the posting order of Mr Kamyana as CCPO Lahore was issued directly from the Prime Minister Secretariat.

According to procedure, a summary comprising names of three candidates is to be sent to the Punjab government for the appointment of an officer as Lahore police chief, a BS-21 post. “It is moved by the Central Police Office (CPO) through the home department with the consultation of the IG Punjab,” he said. In this case, he said, no such process was followed.

There were reports that the post of the CCPO Lahore would be filled after chief minster’s oath-taking ceremony. It fell vacant after the transfer of CCPO Fayyaz Ahmad Dev.

He said Mr Kamyana was known for his “aggressive style” to get his orders/policies implemented. The official said some divisional SPs tried to reach the CPO for transfers but their requests were turned down and they were directed to continue their assignments in Lahore.

According to a press release issued here on Thursday, Bilal Siddique Kamyana is an Old Ravian and belongs to Sahiwal. After assuming charge, he held a meeting with the senior officers including DIG Investigation, DIG Operations, City Traffic Officer and SSPs.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2022