Sindh government has initiated action against six Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) officers of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) rank, accusing them of absconding from their work.
It has also ordered action against two Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) officers.
The eight officers were asked by the federal government to relinquish their charge in Sindh province and report back to the Establishment Division. They complied.
However, the Sindh government has accused them of professional misconduct.
The Sindh Services General, Administration and Coordination Department (SGA&CD) has sent letters to the Establishment Division, Sindh Accountant General, Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) and SGA&CD Service-II Additional Secretary to penalize the six officers under Chapter 14.11-A of Police Rules, 1934.
Chapter 14.11-A of Police Rules, 1934 describes the procedure for action against an absconding police officer.
In a letter to the Establishment Division, Sindh SGA&CD claimed the PSP officers relinquished their charges in Sindh without authorization of the provincial government they were working for. The letter alleged that PSP officers deserted their posts in contravention of Article 116 of Sindh Police Act, 2019 and they were liable to be penalized under Chapter 14.11-A of Police Rules, 1934.
Article 116 of the Sindh Police Act, 2019 describes that no police officer shall withdraw from the duties of his office unless expressly allowed to do so in writing by the head of district police or by some other officer authorized to grant such permission.
In a letter to Sindh Accountant General, the SGA&CD requested not to release the Last Pay Certificate (LPC) to the six police officers until the provincial government issue their relieving orders.
In a joint letter to the Sindh IGP and SGA&CD Service-II Additional Secretary, the SGA&CD has said that police officers relinquished their charges despite the fact that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had directed them to continue working on the same positions.
Sindh Chief Minister has also decided to reflect this ‘misconduct’ in the Performance Evaluation Report (PER) of the ‘absconding’ PSP officers.
The transfer orders
Sindh SGA&CD issued a notification on November 29 and instructed seven PSP officers not to relinquish the charge till further order. Instructions were made on the directives of the Sindh chief minister after the officers were transferred out of Sindh by the Establishment Division through a letter dated November 11.
The Establishment Division transferred Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) DIG Omar Shahid Hamid, Special Branch DIGP Naeem Ahmed Sheikh, Security and Emergency Service (S&E) Division DIGP Lt (retd) Maqsood Ahmed, Karachi South-Zone DIGP Javed Akbar Riaz, Karachi East-Zone DIGP Saqib Ismail Memon, Criminal Investigation Agency (CIA) DIGP Muhammad Nauman Siddiqui and DIGP Abdullah Sheikh under the Rotation Police, 2020.
Hamid was transferred to Balochistan, Naeem Ahmed Sheikh, Maqsood Ahmed, and Javed Akbar Riaz were moved to Punjab, Saqib Ismail Memon, Nauman Siddiqui and Abdullah Sheikh were transferred to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
After receiving orders from the Establishment Division, six of the officers relinquished their charge. Only Maqsood Ahmed continues to serve in Sindh.
Did PSP officers switch loyalties?
Before the officers left the province, a tug of war had started between the PPP-led Sindh government and the PTI-led federal government.
On November 15, the SGA&CD wrote a letter to the Establishment Division and claimed that the federal government had violated Civil Service of Pakistan (Composition and Cadre) Rules, 1954 by unilaterally transferring the officers out of Sindh province.
It cited Rule 15(i), 15(iv) and 15(v) that necessitated consultation between federal and provincial governments about placement/withdrawal of the services of PSP/PAS officers.
The Establishment Division responded on November 18 by saying the consultation with the Sindh Chief Secretary and Sindh SGA&CD had been completed and that the transfer was mandatory under the rotation policy that did not allow any officer to serve in a province beyond 10 years.
On November 23, 2021, the Sindh chief minister wrote a letter to Prime Minister PM Imran Khan and shared with him the legal position of the provincial government on the issue.
The chief minister said that the federal government had unilaterally amended the Civil Service of Pakistan Rules, 1954 through the Rotation Policy in 2020. He told the PM that the Sindh government reserves the constitutional right to challenge the amendment.
Murad Ali Shah also said that consultation should have involved the chief minister. He said that that too was not enough as the CM was bound to seek approval from the provincial cabinet before responding to the PM on such consultation.
He also urged the PM to direct the Establishment Division to help the Sindh government overcome the shortage of PSP/PAS officers of all cadres.
However, Establishment Division on the same day ordered the officers to leave the charge and report for new postings.
Crucially, the Establishment Division also ordered them to explain their “non-compliance” with the earlier orders.
If it was a threat, it worked.
What happens next
However, the officers now face action from the Sindh government.
DIGP Nauman Siddiqui told SAMAA Digital that he along with Saqib Ismail Memon and Abdullah Sheikh reported to the KP government on November 27 and the Sindh SGA&CD issued notification of non-compliance against them on November 29.
Siddiqui said that PSP officers, being federal government employees, are required to follow the directives issued by the Establishment Division.
He said that five other PSP officers, who were transferred out of Sindh in the first phase of the Rotation orders, had approached the Sindh High Court to stop their transfers, but the court turned down their pleas saying it was a matter between employer and employee.
“We are employees of the federal government, and we will have to follow their directives,” Siddiqui concluded.
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