Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has given Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab a free hand to take action against underperforming District Police Officers (DPOs) and Regional Police Officers (RPOs) following concerns over rising crime and deteriorating law and order in several districts.
The officers came under scrutiny after performance evaluation reports prepared by Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Shoaib Mirza assessed crime trends and the overall law and order situation across the province.
According to the reports shared with the IGP, crimes against women and children increased significantly in 15 identified districts. Incidents of gang rape were also reported to have risen sharply in these areas.
An official familiar with the matter said the issue was discussed during a follow-up meeting at the Central Police Office (CPO) recently. The meeting was held after a video-link conference in which the chief minister expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of several DPOs and RPOs.
Under the monthly Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system, 15 districts were identified for poor performance in controlling crimes against women and children, along with other serious offences. The assessment subsequently led to transfers of some police officers, the official said.
The districts placed under close scrutiny were Layyah, Lodhran, Multan, Khanewal, Chakwal, Khushab, Mianwali, Murree, Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Vehari, Sargodha, Kot Addu, Gujrat and Bhakkar.
Rawalpindi RPO Babar Sarfraz Alpa was among the officers whose performance came under discussion after special reports highlighted individual cases involving crimes against women and children in the city.
Similarly, Faisalabad RPO Inamur Rehman Malik was questioned over a sudden increase in property-related crimes in Faisalabad during the preceding weeks.
The IGP also directed the RPOs of Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan to strengthen supervision and take effective measures to reduce crime in their respective regions.
During the video-link conference, Maryam Nawaz cited the killing of industrialist Mian Rehan Ashraf Qadri in a high-profile case as an example of poor police performance. The industrialist was allegedly shot dead on October 17, 2026, while attempting to recover his stolen vehicle.
The official said some senior police officers challenged the inclusion of all 15 districts in the assessment, arguing that certain areas had met the required performance standards.
Sargodha RPO Sohail Sukhera and Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) official Wasim Sial defended the performance of police teams in Sargodha and Mianwali. They highlighted operations conducted with trained CTD personnel, including raids in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to pursue proclaimed offenders wanted in Sargodha.
Lahore’s crime situation was also discussed during the meeting. Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Bilal Siddique defended the provincial capital’s performance, pointing out that its larger population made comparisons with other districts difficult. He maintained that Lahore’s crime figures were comparatively better than those of other major cities in Punjab.
Meanwhile, the DPO of Murree responded to concerns raised in the evaluation report over an alleged 75 per cent increase in homicide and murder cases in the district.
The chief minister reprimanded the DPO of Layyah for recording the lowest performance against the assigned KPIs and directed the Dera Ghazi Khan RPO to investigate why the district had failed to achieve its targets.
Maryam Nawaz also expressed serious concern over the reported rise in gang-rape cases and other crimes against women and children. She noted that such incidents were receiving widespread attention on social media, particularly on the platform X, and referred to several high-profile cases involving sexual violence and crimes against children.
The chief minister warned police officials that she would not tolerate the exploitation of women and children and stressed the need for stronger action to prevent such crimes.
In a separate meeting, the IGP informed all DPOs and RPOs that another high-level performance review would take place in four weeks. The official said the officers had been warned that transfers could follow if they failed to improve their performance in line with the prescribed indicators.
