Govt suffers setback as SHC sets aside two police officers' transfer

KARACHI: In a blow to the Sindh government, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday declared void its notification on surrendering the services of DIG Establishment Khadim Hussain Rind and SP Shikarpur Dr Rizwan Ahmed to the federal government.

A two-judge bench of the high court handed this verdict on a petition challenging the provincial government’s move to surrender the services of both police officials to the Centre.

The bench held that the provincial government didn’t follow the required legal procedure for transfer of the police officers.

“The Sindh government can’t transfer a police officer without consultation with the Inspector General of Police,” it ruled.

Previously, the court had suspended the notification regarding removal of the DIG Establishment and SP Shikarpur from their posts.

The verdict comes at a time when the Sindh government and IGP Dr Kaleem Imam are at daggers drawn with the former having approached the federal government for removal of the latter from the post.

Earlier, on Jan 28, Prime Minister Imran Khan had changed his decision on the appointment of a new police chief in the province and asked Governor Imran Ismail to again sit with Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to resolve the issue.

He chaired a meeting of the federal cabinet to discuss a 15-point agenda, which included the appointment of a new IGP after the removal of the incumbent police chief Dr Kaleem Imam.