Administrative issues: CM tells off IG for bypassing home secretary

The IG Habib ur Rehman of Punjab Police has been told to stick to the Rules of Business, which state that the home secretary is the administrative head of the Police Department, said an official close to the development. PHOTO: punjabpolice.gov.pk/

The IG has been told to stick to the Rules of Business, which state that the home secretary is the administrative head of the Police Department, said an official close to the development.

He said that the IG had sent a summary to the chief minister proposing that Major (retired) Mubasharullah, commandant of the Police Training School at Chuhng and a deputy inspector general, be retained in the Police Department even though he had reached retirement age on May 12.

The chief minister rejected the proposal, stating that the “retention of an officer in uniform in any manner on a cadre post is against the policy of the Punjab government”. The IG was directed to avoid direct contact with the CM’s Secretariat and to follow the Rules of Business in all communications with the Secretariat.

The chief minister observed that Mubasharullah could be engaged as a consultant under the Consultant Hiring Policy of 2006 issued by the Planning and Development Board. The policy states that consultants should be hired from the open market for specific tasks after inviting applications from eligible candidates.

The Chief Minister’s Secretariat sent the summary to the chief secretary for further action according to policy, the official said.

Although the IG was given some administrative and financial powers upon being declared an ex-officio secretary in the Police Order of 2002, the Rules of Business state that the home secretary remains the administrative secretary for the Police Department, the official said.

Meanwhile, DIG Mubasharullah remains commandant of the training school despite passing his date of retirement.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2012.