A tale of patties and pastries

AD Khowaja was a source of contention for the PPP government for some time

KARACHI: It was a battle of patties and pastries. The Sindh Police department stood divided between the two delicacies - both varieties introduced by polar figures vying for control. That battle has now ended with the appointment of Amjad Saleemi as the Sindh Inspector General of Police. What remains to be seen is if the bad taste will last.

It all started in January 2018 when the provincial government appointed Sardar Abdul Majeed Dasti as the police chief. Unfortunately, his tenure couldn't last long, as Allah Dino Khowaja was quickly reinstated to the post on the court's directives.

In the few hours that Dasti held the charge, he called a meeting of all the Deputy Inspector Generals and senior officials. Legend has it that he ordered patties to be served to the guests during the meeting.

Meanwhile, AD Khowaja was reinstated by the court. He arrived at the Central Police Office as the meeting was going on and took over the meeting as the IGP. Khowaja ordered pastries to be served to the participants.



This is how the Sindh Police's senior bureaucracy came to be divided into the 'patties and pastries' camps.

"Patties and Pastries had become a symbol in the police department," laughed a senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Officers used to ask each other which camp they belonged to - patties or pastries - instead of using the names of Khowaja and Dasti," he added.

With Saleemi's appointment, the Pakistan Peoples Party government's long-lasting wish to remove Khowaja seems to have finally come true - albeit after its tenure has ended. "Maybe the new IGP will prefer to serve Nimco," the officer quipped.

The interim government appointed the new IGP after the Election Commission of Pakistan asked the caretaker government to replace all the four provincial police chiefs and chief secretaries within 24 hours.



Saleemi, who is a career officer of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), last held the post of National Highway Authority and Motorway Police (NHA&MP) inspector general (IG).

The newly appointed IGP Sindh will assume the charge of his office today (Friday).