Daily Times

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Tuesday suspended the notification issued earlier by the Punjab government appointing acting Punjab Police Inspection General Captain (r) Usman Khattak as the permanent police chief of the province.

The chief justice on July 3 had given the federal and the Punjab governments 15 days to appoint a permanent inspector general.

The court directed the respondent authorities to appoint a permanent inspector general for a period of three years until July 26. The court also sought a compliance report and assistance from the Establishment Secretary, S&GAD Secretary and the Punjab advocate general on the next hearing.

The high court passed the orders while hearing a petition filed by Abdul Razzaq, seeking appointment of a permanent IG and implementation of the Police Order 2002. As the proceedings started, a law officer submitted a notification for appointment of Usman Khattak as permanent IG of the province.

However, counsel for the petitioner Saad Rasool pointed out that Usman Khattak was scheduled to be retired after three months. He said that under Sections 11 and 12 of Police Order 2002, it was mandatory to appoint permanent IG for a period of three years.

He contended that appointment of Usman Khattak as the permanent IG was a violation of the Police Order 2002.

At this, the court agreed with the stance of the counsel for the petitioner, and suspended the notification, besides directing the respondents to appoint the new IG for a period of three years until July 26.

It is pertinent to mention that Additional Inspector General Training Usman Khattak was appointed acting IG on April 12 after the retirement of then Punjab Police inspector general Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera.

On July 17, 2017, Khattak was appointed permanent IG with immediate effect.

Earlier, a provincial government law officer had informed the court that the Police Order 2002 had been amended recently eliminating the role of National Public Safety Commission in the appointment of IG. He had said that the provincial government would appoint the IG from a panel of three eligible police officers recommended by the federal government.

Published in Daily Times, July 19^th , 2017.