SSP Junejo appointed new Operations AIG

Officer had been beaten up by protesters in 2014, was later suspended by govt

ISLAMABAD: SSP Asmatullah Junejo, who had been beaten black and blue by protesters during the 2014 sit-in in the capital and was later suspended by the government under murky circumstances, has returned to the capital police.

This time around, Junejo will serve as the Assistant Inspector General of Operations in the capital’s police department.

Junejo, considered to be an upright police officer, was assaulted by protesters on Constitution Avenue on September 1, 2014, during the sit-ins of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).

The assault came on his first day as in-charge of the capital police after he had replaced his predecessor SSP-Operations Muhammad Ali Nekokara a day earlier.

A case to punish those who beat up Junejo is still being heard in the courts, while a police investigation was also launched to identify the cops who had abandoned him when the mob attacked him.

Junejo spent several days in the intensive care unit of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) receiving stitches to his head and a few fractures.

However, a few months later he was suspended by his seniors on the allegation that he showed leniency in arresting a leader of the banned Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat for violating Section 144.

Many at the time believed that the issue was used as an excuse to remove him since he had developed differences with his superiors.

The department started disciplinary proceedings against him, but he was ultimately exonerated of all charges in December 2015.

Last month, Junejo returned from sabbatical and rejoined the police force. The Establishment Division had subsequently reassigned him to the Islamabad Police.

A notification issued by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Chief Commissioner on Monday said that Junejo had now been given the charge of AIG Operations in the ICT Police.

Meanwhile, SP Hassan Iqbal has been transferred from the post of Saddar SP to be the new PSO to the Minister of Interior, he has been replaced by SP Aamir Niazi. SSP Muhammad Suleman has handed the post of SSP Security along with the additional charge of AIG Establishment.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2017.