The Sindh government, through a notification issued on Friday, said that the decisions regarding posting and transfers of senior police officers will be taken by the Services, General Administration and Coordination Department of the provincial government after taking approval from Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal.

With this recently issued notification, the Sindh government nullified its earlier notification issued last week, dated June 30, 2017. As per previous notification, the chief secretary was supposed to issue such orders of transfers and postings of the SSPs and SPs with approval of the Sindh chief minister but now such notification has been cancelled or withdrawn to empower the Sindh home minister.

The latest notification has been issued with the approval of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. The order is issued in accordance with Rule-7(ii) of the Sindh Government Rules of Business, 1986.

According to the notification issued on Friday (July 7), not only SPs (grade 18) and SSPs (grade 19) but DIGs (grade 20) officers would also be transferred and posted with approval of the home minister Sindh.

This decision came after days of taking away powers of transfers and postings of SPs and SSPs from inspector general of police Sindh, A.D. Khowaja amid tussle between the political elites belonging to the ruling PPP and the police chief.

Khowaja has said that provincial government’s decision to exclude IGP’s input from the process of transfers and postings of senior police officers will certainly have adverse implications as the chief minister has already had such powers.

He had hoped that the issue would hopefully be cleared after the Sindh High Court judgement in this regard.