Abdullah Sumbal appointed Punjab Chief Secretary, Amir Zulfiqar IGP

LAHORE: Abdullah Khan Sumbal, Chairman Planning & Development (P&D), Punjab, has been transferred and posted as Chief Secretary Punjab, the Establishment Division (ED) issued a notification on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, federal government has appointed Muhammad Amir Zulfikar Khan as Inspector General of Police Punjab. Muhammad Aamir Zulfikar Khan belongs to 19th Command of Police Service of Pakistan.

He was performing his duties as Deputy DG Anti-Narcotics Force these days. He has also served as IG National Highways and Motorways Police, and IG Islamabad Police. Muhammad Amir Zulfiqar Khan has also been posted as Additional IG Operations Punjab. He joined Pakistan Police Service as ASP in 1991. He held the posts of DIG Operations Lahore, RPO Multan, DIG CTD Punjab, DIG Operations CPO and Punjab. He has served in Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federal Government.

Meanwhile, as per the Establishment Division’s notification, the Punjab government relieved Inspector General of Punjab (IGP) Faisal Shahkar. It may be recalled that Punjab and Centre locked horns over the appointment of Chief Secretary and IGP Punjab after Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal was went on leave after developing differences with the Punjab government. IGP Punjab Faisal Shahkar’s services were surrendered by the provincial government after the attack on PTI Chairman Imran Khan in Wazirabad. A senior bureaucrat was of the view that after the 18th Amendment, the federal government is bound to appoint Chief Secretary and IGP Punjab from the panel suggested by the province concerned. Punjab had recommended the panel of three officers, including Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, presently posted as Secretary Cabinet Division, Babar Hayat Tarar, ex-Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR), and Chairman P&D Abdullah Khan Sumbal on August 18, 2022. However, the federal government, while responding to the Punjab government’s request, had taken the plea that since the by-election had been announced on nine National Assembly seats, the appointment on key posts was not possible. About one month ago, Kamran Ali Afzal went on leave and Chairman P&D Abdullah Khan Sumbal got an additional charge of the post of Chief Secretary Punjab.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi were not happy with Kamran Ali Afzal due to the crackdown on PTI workers during May 25 Long March and the role of police and provincial administration during the chief minister’s election when Hamza Shehbaz got the Punjab CM’s slot. Sources said the federal government wants to retain Kamran Ali Afzal in Punjab, though he had written a letter to the federal government requesting to withdraw his services from Punjab. It is worth mentioning that on November 8 the Punjab government had written to the federal government to withdraw the services of Inspector General of Police Faisal Shahkar forthwith. To this effect, a notification was issued according to which the provincial cabinet in its meeting on November 4 had shown its lack of trust in the performance of Faisal Shahkar regarding security measures while handling the long march and assassination bid on PTI Chairman Imran Khan. It may be noted that IGP Shahkar had already written a letter to the Establishment Division for the withdrawal of his services from Punjab for personal reasons. Later on November 9, the Punjab government sent a panel of three senior police officers to the federal government for the post of Inspector General of Police (IGP). The police officers in the panel are Additional IG Fayyaz Ahmad Dev, Additional IG Amir Zulfiqar and Additional IG Ghulam Mahmood Dogar.

It may be mentioned here that Ghulam Mahmood Dogar is under suspension as he didn’t comply with the orders of the federal government. The Establishment Division once again directed Ghulam Mehmood Dogar to report to Establishment Division immediately. It may also be recalled that the ED had suspended Dogar on November 5 and directed him to report to the Establishment Division. Dogar also approached the Lahore High Court against the suspension but the court disposed of his application and directed him to approach the relevant forum. Further, the federal government had withdrawn the services of Dogar but the Punjab government didn’t relieve him.

Similarly, the Punjab government earlier surrendered the services of Waqar Dev as the provincial government was not satisfied with his performance. Amir Zulfiqar had served on key slots in Punjab during the previous government of Pervaiz Elahi.