Major reshuffle in Punjab police dept on the cards

IGP says community participatory initiative will be involved to seek community participation in maintaining peace

LAHORE: Different names are being speculated to replace several officers including CCPO Lahore and DIG Operations. After the appointment of Captain (retd) Arif Nawaz as the new IGP, a reshuffle is expected in the police department.

Sources revealed that in the first phase, the names of Zulfiqar Hameed, Rao Sardar, Ghulam Mehmood Dogar and Umer Sheikh are under consideration as CCPO Lahore. While the names of Tariq Abbas Qureshi, Syed Khurram Ali Shah, Rana Shehzad Akbar are being considered for the slot of DIG Operations.

Meanwhile, IGP Captain (retd) Arif Nawaz has said the challenges have grown and so have the public expectations from police service in the province.

He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting regarding police reforms at the Central Police Office on Thursday.

He said Punjab Police have always tried to serve the citizens with professionalism and commitment. “However, we have to understand that public expectations from the department. We can improve our image only by performing people-friendly policing, upholding rule of law, hard work, professionalism, and adherence to the merit,” he said.

He said a comprehensive community participatory initiative would be involved to seek community participation in maintaining law and order, controlling crime and combating terrorism. Alternate mechanisms to dispute resolution shall also be part of this new initiative.