Fighting crime: New AIG Karachi says he’d rather be in Sukkur

Gorchani was transferred to the Sindh police from Islamabad.

KARACHI:
At the moment the biggest concern for most citizens is street crime, said newly appointed additional IG Karachi Akhtar Hussain Gorchani. “I will do my best to bring the crime graph down.”

Gorchani says it is pure luck that target killings were under control when he took charge, and said that  he was aware of the lack of trust people have in the police force.

“To tell you the truth,” he said, “I was more interested in becoming the regional police officer in Sukkur since it would be closer to my hometown in Punjab.”

He said that he was aware that there were other contenders in the race including Crime Investigation Department’s additional IG Ghulam Shabbir Shiekh.


“The problem was that officers like him are not grade 21 officers like me,” he said.

One of the trends observed in appointments at senior posts such as the AIG Karachi is that officers immediately make transfers and postings based on their preferences. In fact, the issue of transfer and postings can be quite a contentious issue. The former AIG Karachi Saud Mirza had to unceremoniously leave his post when he developed differences with Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan.

“I was told Saud Mirza left because he wanted to,” he told The Express Tribune. “He still had seven years of service left and was looking forward to completing his term.”

But police officers can rest easy for now, as Gorchani claims that he does not plan on making any major transfers or postings within the department. Gorchani was recently transferred to the Sindh police force from Islamabad. He was one of the security directors at the presidency. He has served as SSP West in Karachi in the past.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2011.
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