IG’s ‘forced leave’: 35 retired police officers request PM to intervene in matter
Letter was penned by Shigri, who says that sending the IG on ‘forced leave’ is unjustified
KARACHI:
As many as 35 retired inspector generals (IGs) of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) have expressed their concern over the way the Sindh government sent Sindh IG Allah Dino Khawaja on a ‘forced leave’.
They wrote a letter to the prime minister, asking him to intervene and stop the ‘forced transfer’ of the provincial police chief.
The 35 retired PSP officers include former Punjab IG Syed Masood Shah, former Sindh IG Afzal Ali Shigri, former Federal Investigation Agency director-general Tariq Pervez, former Punjab IG Shaukat Javed, former Balochistan IG Tariq Khosa and former Islamabad IG Iftikhar Ahmed.
The letter has been penned down by Shigri, who writes that the decision to send IG Khawaja on a ‘forced leave’ is “unjustified, arbitrary and contrary to norms of good governance and justice.” The letter also adds, “Transferring an IG of a province on personal whims not only belittles the office in the eyes of his subordinates and the public but is also against [the] norms of justice.”
Talking to The Express Tribune, Shigri said “It is a wrong decision [and] it will definitely demoralise the entire police force of Sindh.” The IG’s tenure should be fixed for at least three years, he said.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh government on December 19 reportedly sent IG Khawaja on a ‘forced leave’.
The decision was taken by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah just a few days before the arrival of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, who arrived on Friday after spending about 18 months in Dubai. Even though the notification issued by services, general administration and coordination department of the Sindh government has not mentioned that IG Khawaja has been removed or transferred, it was learnt that government asked him to leave the post following his differences with PPP leadership.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2016.
As many as 35 retired inspector generals (IGs) of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) have expressed their concern over the way the Sindh government sent Sindh IG Allah Dino Khawaja on a ‘forced leave’.
They wrote a letter to the prime minister, asking him to intervene and stop the ‘forced transfer’ of the provincial police chief.
The 35 retired PSP officers include former Punjab IG Syed Masood Shah, former Sindh IG Afzal Ali Shigri, former Federal Investigation Agency director-general Tariq Pervez, former Punjab IG Shaukat Javed, former Balochistan IG Tariq Khosa and former Islamabad IG Iftikhar Ahmed.
The letter has been penned down by Shigri, who writes that the decision to send IG Khawaja on a ‘forced leave’ is “unjustified, arbitrary and contrary to norms of good governance and justice.” The letter also adds, “Transferring an IG of a province on personal whims not only belittles the office in the eyes of his subordinates and the public but is also against [the] norms of justice.”
Talking to The Express Tribune, Shigri said “It is a wrong decision [and] it will definitely demoralise the entire police force of Sindh.” The IG’s tenure should be fixed for at least three years, he said.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh government on December 19 reportedly sent IG Khawaja on a ‘forced leave’.
The decision was taken by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah just a few days before the arrival of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, who arrived on Friday after spending about 18 months in Dubai. Even though the notification issued by services, general administration and coordination department of the Sindh government has not mentioned that IG Khawaja has been removed or transferred, it was learnt that government asked him to leave the post following his differences with PPP leadership.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2016.