Court stays appointment of G-B’s top cop

Former IGP had petitioned that the promotion deprives deserving officials.

GILGIT:

The Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court issued a stay order on Wednesday against the appointment of Usman Zakaria as Inspector General of Police (IGP).

The order was issued in response to a petition filed by former IGP Hussain Asghar and acting IGP Wazir Ali Khan, who maintained that Zakria’s appointment deprives many police officials with more seniority of their right to promotion.

He had earlier said that the G-B government had asked the federal government to transfer Zakria to fill a vacant post of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG). However, he was appointed as IGP and promoted to grade-20, when there are at least four DIGs senior to him who were promoted to grade-20 six to seven years back. He had stated that appointment of a junior official will demoralise other senior officials working in police department. He had also stated that appointing another IGP and providing salaries to the two simultaneously will not in the G-B’s best interest.

Hussain was suspended from his post in July 2011 on the orders of Supreme Court last year when he failed to report back to the Federal Investigation Agency in the Hajj scam case. Khan had been appointed as the acting IGP in his place.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2012.