To replace or not to replace Sindh’s IGP?

By
Mazhar Abbas
|
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh, Kaleem Imam. Photo: File

The tussle over the transfer of Sindh’s top cop continues, even after three months. In January, the chief minister of the province and the prime minister reached an agreement to replace the incumbent Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Sindh, Kaleem Imam, with Mushtaq Mahar.

So then, one wonders, what is the hold up?

The clearance for Mahar has come from the highest quarters and from those who matter, yet, strangely, the issue remains unresolved.

Interestingly, Imam told me that in his last meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, he personally requested the premier to transfer him. But the Center wanted him to stay on, at least till the next local body elections in the province, which could be held as early as 2021.

The provincial government however is insisting on a quick change of officers. The Pakistan People’s Party-led Sindh government has sent three names, and later two more, to the prime minister to choose from. The men listed included, Ghulam Qadir Thebo, Sanaullah Abbasi and the controversial Inam Ghani amongst others.

The prime minister has also been told by the people, who matters most in such matters, that Mahar would be a better choice as Abbasi was already the IGP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Read also: Embattled IG Sindh Kaleem Imam's speech at ceremony stirs speculation

But the opposition to his name comes from the ruling party’s allies in Sindh, therefore the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), including Pir Pagara, Fahmida Mirza and Zulfiqar Mirza. Instead, the GDA, the governor Sindh and two Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ministers in the province are insisting on Amir Sheikh. However, his name was not cleared by the premier agencies.

Thus, what we have right now it an amazing and head-spinning timeline of events, which began in December, when the chief minister first requested the prime minister to replace Imam on the basis of performance. A person privy to the development told me that the prime minister, in that December meeting, gave his go-ahead but asked the chief minister to discuss the matter with his close aid and the principal secretary to the prime minister, Azam Khan.

Although it is the federal government which suggests names of an IGP, the prime minister was gracious enough to let the chief minister propose names instead.

Later, in the first week of January, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, in consultation with his colleagues, pushed for Ghulam Qadir Thebo, as first priority. The name was also discussed with Azam Khan, a source tells me. Two other names were suggested, and then later two more were sent to the prime minister’s office, which included Inam Ghani and Mushtaq Mahar.

For three days thereafter there was complete silence.

Federal government to transfer Kaleem Imam from Sindh Police to Narcotics Division: report

Shah reminded the principal secretary to take up the matter with the prime minister. But he was told that the matter is still under discussion. Finally, when no word was forthcoming, the chief minister made another call, this time directly to Prime Minister Khan.

The prime minister, I am told, asked Shah to suggested more names and particularly rejected the name of Thebo. The chief minister reminded the premier that the federal government could also suggest names, if they wanted.

The matter was further delayed when the prime minister left for Davos. In the meantime the civil society in Karachi went to the Sindh High Court against the Sindh government’s move, as they did in the case of former IGP, Allah Dino Khawaja.

Consultations, however, between Azam Khan and Shah continued. Strangely, the prime minister kept his other close aide, Shehzad Arbab, out of the negotiations.

A source tells me that the chief minister also contacted by “high officials” to discuss the deadlock. He was told that the prime minister would soon visit Karachi to resolve the matter.

A day before the visit, Shah received a call from the governor Sindh. He requested Shah to be more flexible with the appointment. When the prime minister, the chief minister and the governor finally sat down, a consensus emerged over the name of Mushtaq Mahar. But shortly after the meet, Prime Minister Imran Khan went to meet the GDA leaders, who strongly resisted the new name, putting the prime minister in an awkward position. Which is why before the prime minister left for Islamabad, he told the chief minister that he will take his cabinet into confidence before a final decision.

Read also: Sindh CM says IGP Kaleem Imam a ‘failed police officer’

Back in the capital, when the name of Mahar was tabled in a cabinet meeting, Fahmida Mirza, PTI’s Ali Haider Zaidi and Faisal Vawda rejected it, while Ijaz Ahmed Shah and Shafqat Mahmood backed Mahar as IGP.

Since no agreement could be reached, the cabinet decided to let the governor sort out the matter, with the chief minister of Sindh. However this time, Shah refused to accept the decision. He was of the view that the matter could be discussed with the prime minister but not with the governor, who had no such constitutional authority.

The chief minister has also recently received feedback from other quarters who have expressed surprise at the unnecessary delay.

During one meeting, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah asked the prime minister why he was opposed to Mahar’s appointment. The premier replied: “I don’t know much about him.” Surprised, the chief minister reminded the prime minister that he had promoted Mahar himself from Grade 21 to 22.

When the name of Abbasi came up, the prime minister once again said he has little information about the man. To which he was again reminded that Abbasi has until recently served as the IGP in KP, where the PTI is in power.

So, an impasse still exists. Which is why frustrations are building up.

In the last meeting between the chief minister and prime minister, the former asked the latter, how many times had he discussed the transfer of an IGP with the chief ministers of the other provinces? Prime Minister Imran Khan, I am told, replied: “In Sindh, there are complaints of political victimization through police.” Shah rejected the claim and said that if he was talking about the case of PTI’s Haleem Adil Sheikh, then he should first see the video on the basis of which the police case was registered. Sheikh is accused of kidnapping, torturing and forcing a man to record a video.

The IGP is not as powerful as we imagine. In the past, officers like Rao Anwar, the late Chaudhry Aslam and few others from 1992-1994, were not even answerable to the IGP of that time. They instead enjoyed the support of others.

In the coming days, Kaleem Imam could remain the IGP, or he could be replaced. But it is clear till now that the tug-of-war between the federal and provincial government will continue. In the end the people and the law and order situation would suffer the most.

It is also high time that the provincial government and the Center ensure an independent police, as promised, and a powerful IGP.

Abbas is a senior columnist and analyst of GEO, The News and Jang

He tweets @MazharAbbasGEO