LAHORE: The Punjab government has replaced Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Zulfiqar Hameed, the prime choice of incumbent Punjab IGP Shoaib Dastgir for the city police chief, with Deputy Inspector General of Police for Special Protection Unit (SPU) Muhammad Umar Sheikh, a BS-20 officer, under the violation of Police Order 2002.

The transfer of Zulfiqar came shortly after the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Lahore who chaired important meetings with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and other cabinet members on Tuesday.

According to the notification, eight senior police officers serving in BS-20 have been transferred. Zulfiqar Hammed serving in (BS-20) has been posted as Additional Inspector General of Police (Operations) Punjab, relieving Azhar Hameed Khokha (PSP/BS-21) of the additional charge of the post, the notification says. The transfers and postings orders of the senior police officers were issued late on Tuesday after visit of the premier to the metropolis.

As per the Police Order 2002, the slot of the CCPO, reserved for an additional IG serving in BS-21, is regarded as the second most important position which requires extraordinary care in selection under rules and regulations to avoid embarrassment or resentment within the department. Last year when Zulfiqar was appointed as the CCPO, a number of senior police officers had expressed their reservations over IGP Shoaib Dastgir's alleged "favouritism" and questioned the legality of his decision under the Police Order 2002. When this scribe tried to contact Punjab police spokesperson Nayab Haider to ask how a BS-20 officer could be appointed as CCPO under the Police Order 2002, he did not respond.

In police circles, Zulfiqar Hameed is regarded as honest but lazy police officer. In this regard, Punjab IGP Shoaib Dastgir had repeatedly asked him to improve his performance, particularly in field assignments.

It is pertinent to mention that the Punjab police last month had come under severe criticism for not taking "timely action" to avoid the violent clash between police and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supporters outside the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020