High-level shuffle sees new FIA, Punjab police chief

Outgoing DG FIA was in hot water with SC; IG Punjab made DG FIA.


Asad Kharal February 18, 2012

LAHORE:


The government has appointed a new chief of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), as part of a number of high-level changes made on Friday. The moves were not without a fair share of controversy.


Director General (DG) FIA Tahsin Anwar Ali Shah has been posted as the DG of the National Police Bureau (NPB), the establishment division said on Friday. Shah’s replacement will be Javed Iqbal, who was serving as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab.

With Iqbal’s departure, Punjab Constabulary Commandant Haji Habibur Rehman will take over as the new chief of Punjab’s police.

Shah will take over from Tahir Arif, who retired on February 12 after serving a month as the DG NPB since January 9. Currently, Mahmud Alam Mahsud is working as the acting DG NPB.

Rehman will serve as the Punjab IGP till January 2, 2013, sources said. Shah will be retiring on March 15 this year while Iqbal will retire in August 2013.

IG Punjab’s exit

Questions surround Javed Iqbal’s transfer. Sources privy to the developments revealed that Prime Minister Gilani had approved Iqbal’s withdrawal as IGP Punjab on Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s request.

The Punjab government had been annoyed at Iqbal’s stringent policies while in charge of the province’s police force. Sources in the police department confirmed that legislators belonging to Punjab’s ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), in particular were unhappy with the IGP. Iqbal, on assuming charge, had overtly directed his subordinates to not obey any questionable orders from members of the Provincial and National Assemblies.

According to the sources, the PM has appointed Haji Habibur Rehman as the new IGP Punjab with the consensus of both the federal and provincial governments. Rehman was the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) when Punjab was under governor-rule, and had managed to keep both the late Punjab governor Salman Taseer and the PML-N leadership, especially the Sharif brothers, content during this time.

Rehman also had a role in relaxing the tight security circle in front of the Sharifs’ residence during the long March. At the same time, he had catered to the PPP’s desires in many cases as well and as such enjoyed the confidence of both the governments.

The sources said that Iqbal was likely to become DG Intelligence Bureau (IB) earlier, but a strained relationship between the provincial and federal governments at the time led to disagreement over his transfer. Consensus was reached in the aftermath of the 20th amendment negotiations and bargaining in the Senate elections.

The transfer of Tahsin Anwar Ali Shah is not without intrigue either. The Supreme Court (SC) had not been happy with Shah over his non-compliance to SC orders, sources further revealed. His transfer appears to be an attempt on the federal government’s part to better relations with the SC.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18th, 2012.

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