LAHORE – The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday set aside a notification for the appointment of Punjab’s acting inspector-general of police Capt (r) Usman Khattak as the permanent IGP of the province over violation of court orders. The court expressed its anger that the Punjab government had appointed Khattak as the permanent IGP even though he is due to retire in November this year. Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah took up the petition seeking appointment of a permanent IGP and implementation of the Police Order 2002. On the previous hearing, the chief justice had given the government third and the last deadline to do the needful. Saad Rasool, a local lawyer, had filed the public interest petition on behalf of Mohammad Razzaq questioning non-composition of the public safety commission for the appointment of police officers, including IGP, in compliance with the Police Order. The petitioner stated that Khattak was appointed permanent IGP despite the public safety commission being non-functional. The commission’s approval is necessary for the appointment of IGP Punjab, he contended. Under the Constitution and law, the acting IGP cannot be appointed permanent police chief of the province, he said. He further said under the law, the employment of IG Punjab should last three years and the provincial government prime facie had committed contempt of court by appointing a permanent IG who is due to retire in three months. However, a Punjab government’s lawyer told the court that after promulgation of an amendment by the provincial governor, the recommendation of National Public Safety Commission was no longer required for the IGP’s appointment. The court adjourned the hearing till July 26 after suspending the notification for the appointment of Khattak as permanent IG. The federal government had on Monday appointed acting inspector general of police Muhammad Usman Khattak as chief of the Punjab police on permanent grounds. The officer will stand retired from service on November 1, 2017. The move comes just a couple weeks after the Lahore high court while hearing a writ petition ordered the government to appoint Punjab police chief within two 15 days. According to the notification, “Capt (r) Muhammad Usman, a BS-21 officer of Police Service of Pakistan, presently serving under the Government of the Punjab, is transferred and posted as Provincial Police Officer (PPO), Government of the Punjab, in his own pay and scale, with immediate effect and until further orders.”
