On Tuesday the Punjab government removed police inspector general Shoaib Dastgir.
A notification issued by the Cabinet Division said the man, who is a BS-22 office of the Pakistan Police Service, was transferred and posted with immediate effect as Secretary of the Narcotics Control Division.
A separate notification added that the new provincial police officer has been named Inam Ghani, a BS-21 officer at the Pakistan Police Service.
Ghani is the sixth IG to take over since 2018 when the PTI took over the reins of the provincial government.
On Monday, without his consultation, Dastgir had refused to work under the PTI government on the recent appointment of Umar Sheik as the Lahore City Police Officer (CCPO) and had requested the chief minister to move him to an “appropriate venue.”
Another explanation was said to have caused the IG to take the move were some remarks allegedly made by the CCPO while talking to a few police officers at the office on his first day, which was less than a week ago.
An official development private had told Dawn that Dastgir had met with chief minister Usman Buzdar on Monday and asked him for a “shift to some other suitable location,” adding that he would not continue as chief of provincial police until the CCPO was removed.
The official source had said the remarks of the CCPO had irked the IG about the imminent retirement of the latter.
On Friday, Dastgir had visited Islamabad and protested to Prime Minister Imran Khan about seeking transfer from the CCPO, which was turned down.
The IG had declined to operate on its return to Lahore until the CCPO was moved. As a result, all planned meetings at the IG office were postponed, and on Monday Dastgir met with the CM where he had declined to proceed with the post.
Sources have said that for the CCPO slot, Buzdar had suggested the name of Sheik to the prime minister. A federal government team sent by the PM had okayed Sheikh’s name after a 45-minute consultation, and the PM granted its final approval during his Sept. 3 visit to Lahore.
During the whole process, the IG was reportedly not brought on board.
