Punjab Police braces for massive reshuffle
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) started transferring senior police officers at key positions after Usman Buzdar stepped down as the chief minister.
The service of another senior police officer who was transferred to Sindh under rotation policy has been surrendered to the Punjab Government on Tuesday.
A notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat Establishment Division read "Sohail Akhtar, a BS-20 officer of Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), presently serving under Government of Sindh is transferred and his services are placed at the disposal of Government of Punjab".
The officers transferred under rotation policy were supposed to work outside geographical boundaries of Punjab for a considerable period of time.
Sohail Akhtar Sukhera had spent only a fraction of time after the transfer to Sindh.
A few reports suggested that he was going to be awarded a key position in the Punjab Police most probably in Lahore.
DIG Operations Dr Abid Khan reportedly was being considered for a post of Regional Police Officer (RPO) and he had been interviewed also during recent times by the powerful quarters.
This is going to be the third key transfer within two weeks in Punjab Police.
On May 6, Additional IG BA Nasir, serving as Punjab Special Branch chief, had been replaced by Usman Anwar. Anwar was serving in Khyber Pakhtunkhawah.
A week before the Special Branch Chief transfer, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) was also changed.
All these officers are said to have been enjoying cordial relations with the PML-N.
A close relative of Sukhera reportedly had contested elections from a constituency during the general elections from the current ruling party of Punjab side. He had faced few allegations of campaign for him especially in Walled City. Anwar had also enjoyed a few key postings in Lahore in the past during PML-N tenure in Punjab. Same is the case with Kamyana.
The details available with The Express Tribune showed that the current regime in Punjab being headed by Hamza Shehbaz Sharif is not going to stop here. There is going to be a complete overhaul within a couple of weeks. The sources revealed that at least 20 DPOs and almost all the RPOs are going to be replaced during the coming days inside Punjab.
On Tuesday, the interviews of some senior police officers were also conducted by Chief Executive as well as Provincial Police Chief.
The majority of the officers who showed up for the interview included those who were transferred out of the province during the 2018 General Elections and some of them had also faced corruption charges. Some notable officers included Rai Ejaz Ahmad, Kamran Mumtaz among others.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2022.