Murad writes third letter to PM to remove IGP

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Saturday wrote another letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, third in a row, asking him to remove Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kaleem Imam and requested him to pick one of the five names recommended by the provincial government for the same post. The chief minister in his letter to the prime minister mentioned that the federal cabinet’s Jan 28 decision to put the issue on hold “is a violation of a 1993 agreement” besides including Sindh Governor Imran Ismail in the consultation process for choosing the new IG was ‘inappropriate’. The Sindh Chief Minister said that Kaleem Imam was inciting hatred in the province as he was ridiculing and degrading the provincial government with his arrogant and rude behavior. He reminded the prime minister that the consultative process provided under the law was completed ‘stricto sensu’ “when we reached an agreement during our last meeting at Governor House on January 20, 2020.”

Referring to the federal cabinet's meeting on the subject, the CM wrote “the matter was placed before the cabinet yesterday. Later, through of the press conference of the federal spokesperson, televised the same day, it was learnt that federal cabinet has decided that Sindh IGP’s posting will be decided after mutual consultation between honorable Governor Sindh and myself.” This, he said seems to be discriminatory and an unnecessary politicization of and administrative matter. If you would recall the manner in which posting of the IGPs/PPOs of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was decided recently, you will notice that requests of Governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were given preferential treatment and not referred to the federal cabinet.

On the contrary, he maintained, our request was placed before the federal cabinet. “I must also add here that Federal Government notified IGPs/PPOs of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa quite promptly, while the request of Sindh has been dragged over a month despite the fact that we made a compelling case against the incumbent,” he maintained in his letter. Moreover, the federal cabinet’s decision is in conflict with the minutes of the 1993 meeting, commonly referred to as the ‘Agreement’ between federal and provincial governments. Posting of IGPs, per these minutes, is a matter that needs to be decided after consultation between federal and provincial governments, Murad Ali Shah maintained.

It is worth mentioning here that a couple of days back, incumbent IGP Sindh Kaleem Imam while reacting to certain speculations that he was transferred from his post, said that he “won’t leave that easily and he has not yet been transferred.” “A (false) impression is being given that I have been transferred […] even if I am transferred, I am worth my weight in gold,” he said while addressing a ceremony in Karachi. “A big conspiracy was hatched against me. According to the police law, an IGP could be appointed after consultations between the federal government and the government of the said province. Section 12(2) of the Sindh (Repeal of the Police Act, 1961 and Revival of Police Order, 2002) (Amendment) Act, 2019 reads: "The provincial government or the federal government may for ‘compelling reasons,’ in consultation with each other, repatriate, or recall, the inspector general of police, as the case may be."

The provincial government provided reasons for Dr Imam’s removal for his alleged “non-cooperation with the Sindh government, and failure to implement directives issued from the CM House,” and frequent absence in key meetings of the government. In Sept 2018, Dr Syed Kaleem Imam was appointed as the inspector general of Sindh police.