Akhtar Farooq has been replaced as Gujrat district police officer by Faisal Shahzad, a BS-19 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), in a move that has raised eyebrows among local officials.
Mr Shahzad was previously serving as AIG (Logistics) at the Central Police Office (CPO) in Lahore. Mr Farooq has now been posted as AIG (Logistics) at the CPO.
Official sources said DPOs normally remained in their posts for at least a year before being considered for transfer. The previous Gujrat DPO, Rana Umar Farooq, was also transferred after serving for eight months.
The premature transfer of Mr Farooq, who is regarded as a well-reputed officer and is a recipient of the civil award Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, has surprised officials in the district.
He had completed the Senior Management Course (SMC) shortly before being posted as Gujrat DPO, a mandatory requirement for police officers being considered for promotion to BS-20.
The incoming DPO, Mr Shahzad, has also completed the SMC. Both officers belong to the 37th Common Training Programme (CTP) of the civil service.
Local political sources have linked Mr Farooq’s transfer to reported differences between the ruling coalition partners, the PML-N and PML-Q, in Gujrat district following the recent election for an AJK Legislative Assembly refugee seat, LA-38.
After the AJK polls, Gujrat police registered cases against at least 45 PML-N workers after some participants in a victory rally allegedly resorted to aerial firing in Jalalpur Jattan following the party candidate’s victory.
Local PML-N workers accused PML-Q ministers of having the cases registered against their party workers, while the PML-Q rejected the allegation outright.
