Sindh cabinet meets tomorrow to consider rules proposed by IGP

A meeting of the provincial cabinet is scheduled to be held tomorrow in Karachi to consider a draft of the Sindh Police (Transfer, Posting & Tenure) Rules 2017.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah will chair the meeting at the New Sindh Secretariat, and the home secretary will give a presentation.

In October last year, the government had constituted a committee headed by the home minister to peruse the draft of new rules for postings, transfers and tenures in the police department. The rules had been recommended by the inspector general of police (IGP).

A notification issued earlier by the chief secretary had stated that the committee was constituted with the approval of the chief minister to examine the draft.

It had said that if the body sought any amendments, they would be recommended to the cabinet when the draft was forwarded to it for consideration. The home minister was the chairman of the committee, and the law minister, the advocate general, the home secretary and the law secretary were its members.

The preliminary version of the rules was drafted by a committee formed by the police chief in compliance with the high court’s order in September last year. The cabinet meeting has been convened at a time the Sindh High Court is hearing a contempt of court application against the chief minister for delaying a meeting specifically for considering the draft.

Earlier on February 3, the counsel of petitioners, who have challenged the repeal of police order 2002 and transfer of IG Sindh AD Khowaja in Sindh High Court, had filed a contempt of court application in SHC against the chief minister and chief secretary for allegedly subverting the high court’s judgment.

The lawyer submitted that on October 28, 2017, the provincial cabinet returned the draft of Sindh Police (Posting, Transfer and Tenure) Rules 2017 to the IG asking him to amend them. He said that the IG had revised and amended the draft rules and sent them to the CS on December 13, but despite being under legal obligation to consider them within 15 days, the cabinet had not done so.