Sindh government spokesperson and Chief Minister's Law Adviser Murtaza Wahab slammed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led government on Wednesday, saying the governor and opposition of the province have no role in the appointment of the Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Tuesday said that the appointment of the new IG had been delayed after their allies in the province had shown reservations over the proposed names, adding that the “governor and chief minister will deliberate not only on the same names but new ones as well to replace Imam.”
“The legal procedure does not say that the governor is to be consulted with, that is why we want the consultations and decisions to be made between the federal and provincial government,” Wahab told reporters on Wednesday.
"We were told that the prime minister was in Davos and that he would resolve the issue [appointment of new IG] as soon as he returns to the country," said Wahab.
He said a one-on-one meeting was held between PM Imran and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah during which all five names proposed by the Sindh government were discussed. He said the meeting ended on a positive note after both signed off on one name for the post of Sindh's top cop.
"For Sindh government, the matter had ended [with the PM Imran-CM Murad meeting] as one name had been finalised between the federal and provincial governments," he said.
“We hope that the talks which took place at the Governor House in Karachi between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will be honored and a new IG will be appointed,” said Wahab.
“The Sindh government is not asking for something extraordinary,” he said, adding that the Punjab government wrote a letter to the Centre on 26 November, 2019 and proposed three names for the new IG Punjab. On the same day, the Centre issued a notification according to which Shoaib Dastagir was appointed as the new provincial chief of police.
“We should be treated like the Khyber Pakhtunkuwa and Punjab governments,” he lamented.
“The province in a detailed report has provided substantial facts on why it is not satisfied with the incumbent inspector general,” still, he said the Centre was not removing him.
“The province’s situation is getting worse and Imam says that this is an ideal situation,” he said.
On Monday, PM Imran held a meeting with CM Murad in which, according to media reports, both agreed to appoint Mushtaq Mehar as Sindh police chief. On Tuesday, however, the federal government said the decision to appoint the new IG had been delayed.
During his press conference, Wahab claimed Sindh government was taken aback when Sindh IG Syed Kaleem Imam, speaking at an event on Tuesday, said "he was going nowhere and if he does, he will move to a higher post".
"When the media asked us questions [about Imam's statements] we told them that the consultation between the federal and provincial governments was over," he said.
Wahab said that it was disappointing to see how the federal government backtracked on its promise and the prime minister's special assistant, Firdous Ashiq Awan, announced that the decision to appoint the new IG had been delayed.