ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Wednesday appointed Dar Ali Khattak to the post of Gilgit-Baltistan Inspector General (IG) and removed Muhammad Saeed Wazir from the post.
The development came after allegations spread that the GB police were "protecting" Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan as law enforcers attempted to arrest him in Lahore’s Zaman Park residence following orders from an Islamabad court.
A notification issued by the Establishment Division confirmed Wazir’s removal and directed the now-former IG to report to the division.
Another notification from the division said that Dar Ali Khattak, a grade 20 police officer from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), had been appointed in Wazir’s place.
According to sources, the government issued the notice for the appointment of the new GB IG in order to immediately recall the police force deployed to Zaman Park.
They said that the federal government dismissed Wazir from the post for not recalling the force.
The sources also confirmed that the newly-appointed IG has been instructed to recall the police from Zaman Park.
On Tuesday, the Punjab Police personnel came face to face with the GB Police during an operation to arrest Imran Khan.
A heavy contingent of police surrounded the former prime minister's Zaman Park residence to arrest him in the Toshakana case.
The police party that had managed to reach the gate of Khan's Lahore residence — amid scuffles between the PTI workers and law enforcement agencies — were confronted by armed GB police deployed to provide security to the former prime minister who was removed from power after a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly in April last year.
The Punjab Police had to abandon the plan and leave the PTI chief's house after the GB police pointed guns at them.
In a press conference earlier today, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb accused Imran Khan of spreading “chaos” in the country and using women and children as a “human shield” to prevent arrest.
She alleged that the GB force was being “used to injure unarmed personnel of the Punjab Police force.”
She further called the PTI chief a “coward” and a “criminal”, while waving the arrest warrant issued against him.
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