LAHORE: In a major reshuffle in the Punjab civil bureaucracy, one of the three retired military officers heading important institutions of Lahore has been replaced.
The Lahore deputy commissioner, Capt (retd) Muhammad Usman, was replaced on Sunday by former personal staff officer (PSO) to the Punjab chief minister, Sumair Ahmad Syed who is a district management group (DMG) officer. The new deputy commissioner took charge of his office soon after the notification was issued.
The other postings reportedly included Okara DC Saima Ahad Khan Cheema, Khushab DC Amjad Bashir, Chakwal DC Umair Jahangir, Bhakkar DC Syed Bilal Haider, Bahawalpur DC Rana Muhammad Saleem Afzal, Dera Ghazi Khan DC Allah Rakha Anjum, Rajanpur DC Ishfaq Ahmed, Lohdran DC Raja Khurram Shehzad Umer and Muzaffargarh DC Saif Anwar.
According to government sources, Shehbaz Sharif was unhappy with the Lahore DC’s performance especially after mismanagement complaints started coming in in the past few weeks.
Capt (retd) Usman was posted in Lahore in 2014 and survived the onslaught in the wake of the Model Town carnage that claimed the lives of 14 Pakistan Awani Tehreek (PAT) workers.
The entire episode began as a result of an anti-encroachment drive by the Lahore district government after it claimed to have received a number of complaints from Model Town residents against road blockings at Minhajul Quran – the PAT headquarters.
Influential offices
Before Sunday, three powerful seats of Lahore – the capital city police officer, deputy commissioner and chief traffic officer – were all occupied by retired military officers.
To boot, the provincial government also handpicked a retired colonel, who was first nominated on a reserved seat and then made a member of the Lahore Metropolitan Corporation and later elected unopposed to the seat of Lahore mayor.
Khawaja Ahmad Hassan was the first choice of Shehbaz-led Punjab government for the seat of Lahore mayor but his decision was overruled on the request of his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, according to party sources.
Other influential offices resting with retired military officers in Lahore are that of the Punjab chief secretary, the home secretary and the food department director. A well-placed officer believed it was a mere coincidence that some of the power seats of Lahore were with the retired army personnel serving in the civil bureaucracy. “All these officers were posted in different times,” he added.
Others pointed out that army men were well-disciplined and well-organised and the government wanted officers to maintain the authority and writ of the government for which there were no better option than an army man.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2017.
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