IGP suspends notifications as ECP objects to transfers in Umerkot before by-election

HYDERABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) monitoring team has issued notices to the Sindh police and college education departments over transfers before the NA-213 Umerkot by-election scheduled for April 17.

The ECP notices stated that the transfers were against the rules and they should be suspended. The Umerkot district monitoring officer of the ECP wrote a letter to the Sindh inspector general of police (IGP), Ghulam Nabi Memon, stating that two officers had been transferred in Umerkot with the IGP’s approval, which was against the rules.

A notice was also sent to the authorities concerned over the transfer of two lecturers of the provincial college education department. The NA-213 constituency fell vacant after to Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Nawab Yousuf Talpur’s death. The by-poll in the constituency would be held on April 17, 2025. Under the ECP rules, appointments and transfers are banned in the constituency until the by-poll.

Late on Saturday night, on the instructions of the ECP, the IGP suspended the transfer notifications of Mirpurkhas DSP Operation Ghulam Mustafa and Kunri DSP Liaquat Hussain. These notifications had been issued earlier in the week.