Khowaja asks subordinates not to give in to illegal pressure

Finding himself under the spotlight once again, Sindh police chief AD Khowaja appears determined to make his mark on policing in the province and has urged the officials and other staffers of the force to neither compromise their professional obligations nor succumb to any unauthorised pressure.

In directives issued on Monday, the inspector general of police (IGP), said appointments and transfers of station house officers had to be made under the prescribed mechanism with strict compliance with the rules and regulations.

Khowaja has been busy reshuffling his law enforcement agency since the historic Sindh High Court judgement of September 7 allowed him to stay as provincial police chief with full powers.

On Sunday, he changed several deputy inspectors general of police (DIGs) and senior superintendents of police (SSPs), a day after he had revoked all notifications of transfers and postings issued by the provincial government for DIGs and SSPs. 

In his Monday’s statement, he said there was no provision for satisfying personal desire for making such important decisions, reiterating that the officials needed to make the posting and hiring mechanism compact and efficient at every level.

Khowaja urged the cops to prove that they as part of the department could deliver the goods with utmost honesty. Referring to the current situation, he said organised crimes had to be eliminated from across the province, and achieving that task called for coordination in the department with equal attention towards updated techniques.

The police chief was of the view that coordination between officials and staff could help them to perform well without succumbing to any sort of pressure. In the particular context of the WhatsApp service initiated by him, he said the committed cops were needed to turn the facility meaningful and to ensure a prompt response to any victims.—APP

News Desk adds: On September 7, the SHC had set aside the notification and the Sindh cabinet’s approval of Khowaja’s transfer and Sardar Abdul Majeed Dasti’s appointment as IGP in his place, declaring it as contrary to the law and of no legal effect. 

The court also ruled that Khowaja would continue to fulfil his responsibilities as IGP till the completion of his three-year tenure. Headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, the SHC’s division bench observed that since a proper procedure in accordance with law had not been followed regarding Khowaja’s transfer, the correspondence addressed by the provincial government to the federal government and the follow-up notification of April 1, 2017, were quashed as being contrary to the law and of no legal effect.

The court also declared the provincial cabinet’s endorsement of the transfer order as contrary to the law. It, however, declared that the legislative competence of police was in the exclusive provincial domain and that the Sindh (Repeal of the Police Order 2002 and Revival of the Police Act, 1861) Act, 2011 was intra vires the country’s constitution. Therefore, the Police Act, 1861, as revived and restored by the said act is the law in force in Sindh, and not the Police Order, 2002.