Politics still pervading police: DPO Bahawalnagar sacked on request of local MNA

BAHAWALNAGAR (Staff Report) - Shariq Kamal Siddique Diatrict Police Officer (DPO) Bahawalnagar has been sacked after refusing to apologize to a local MNA, Alam Dad Lalika of NA 189, over a tiff between local police and the MNA's friend.

According to a Daily Pakistan correspondent, the MNA's friends had a drunk collision with a police mobile in the area of Maarot, after which a tiff broke out between close friends of the MNA and a local policeman.

The MNA's friends reportedly tore apart the uniform of mobile driver, Haq Nawaz.

District Police Officer Bahawalnagar, Shariq Kamal registered FIRs against the incident and assigned a local District Superintendent Police (DSP) to apprehend the miscreants. When the DSP failed to act on these orders, Kamal reported him to the Inspector General of Police, Punjab.

In the meanwhile, the local MNA reached out to Chief Minister Punjab, who formed a three member committee to probe the incident. The committee proposed the suspension of the DSP for his inefficiency, while upholding the course of action taken by DPO Kamal.

MNA Alam Dad Lalika subsequently approached the Prime Minister to intervene in the case. The PM contacted Inspector General (IG) Punjab, who ordered DPO Kamal to apologize to the local MNA.

After refusing to comply, Kamal was relieved of his duties by Punjab Governor  Malik Muhammad Rafique Rajwana, who issued notification to this effect on May 11.

The sacked DPO has since made appearances on a number of private TV channels in reference to the case.

Earlier, during the September 2014 sit-ins in Islamabad that were staged by the PTI and PAT, the then SSP Islamabad Muhammad Ali Nekokara was sacked after he refusing the use of "brute" force against the demonstrators.