Punjab police: Four officers in running to be new IG

LAHORE: Inspector General Aftab Sultan has been transferred to the post of commandant of the National Police Academy, leaving a vacancy at the head of the Punjab Police. Sultan, who as the inspector general of the Punjab Police during the caretaker government was tasked with fair policing of the general elections, had handed in a transfer request to the establishment secretary as he felt his job had been done. Zulfiqar Cheema, former capital city police officer Ahmad Raza Tahir, Nasir Durrani and Qalb-e-Abbas are reported to be in the running to take over as head of the Punjab Police, a 200,000-strong force (second in size only to the Pakistan Army) with a budget of Rs60 billion. The Punjab Police inspector general has eleven additional inspectors general and nine ranges headed by regional police officers under his command. Sultan had been serving as the Punjab additional inspector general (Finance and Welfare) before he was transferred to the post of Punjab police inspector general. He had previously served as director general of the Intelligence Bureau.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2013.