ISLAMABAD: While the federal government has suspended five police officers, including two DIGs, for refusing to serve in Balochistan under a transfer policy framed on the Supreme Court’s intervention, a blue-eyed junior bureaucrat has prematurely been recalled and appointed staff officer to the Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif.
Khalid Sherdil, a BS-18 DMG officer and son of former Chief Secretary AZK Sherdil, is the only bureaucrat recalled by the Punjab even before completing a year, let alone spending three years made mandatory under the Prime Minister’s new transfer policy introduced in August 2012.
He is Personal Staff Officer (PSO) to CM Shahbaz Sharif, and his younger brother Mujahid serves as PSO to Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. Their father was the Punjab chief secretary in 1997 with CM Shahbaz.
Secretary Establishment Division Shahid Rasheed shied away from responding to The News query as he initially promised to offer comment and later refused taking call despite repeated attempts to reach him for over a week.
Khalid Sherdil however confirmed his recall stating that it was the Establishment Division’s decision that should be contacted for the questions relating to the violation of transfer policy, if there is any. He said he was not aware of any transfer policy made by the federal government.
As the policy was announced in August last year after the Balochistan chief secretary had complained of shortage of officers during a hearing on the province’s deteriorating law and order situation by the Supreme Court, Khalid together with other officers was transferred to the restive province in September. He had never served there before.
According to the transfer policy approved by former Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, all DMG and PSP officers falling in four categories would be sent to Balochistan. First, the officers who are Balochistan- domiciled, presently serving outside Balochistan and have completed three years may be posted back to their province of domicile. Second, those officers serving in the province of domicile and have never been posted outside their province of domicile. Third, the officers who have remained posted in a province other than their domicile or in the federal government may be posted to Balochistan. Fourth, the officers who have served outside their province of domicile and have never served in Balochistan may be posted there.
Khalid fell in the second category, as he had never been outside Punjab and rather remained posted either in Lahore or spent time abroad for study purpose during Musharraf regime (considered hostile for the loyalists of Sharif family).
The Establishment Division recalled him from Balochistan, just a day after the PML-N won elections and later posted him as PSO to CM and his brother as PSO to the PM. Fawad Hassan Fawad, Special Secretary to PM, had served as PSO to their father AZK Sherdil.
Khalid’s recall is in contrast with the government’s zero tolerance for others defying the order, as the Establishment Division suspended five police officers on August 13 this year for refusing to go to Balochistan. Included among them are Commandant Police Academy, Sihala DIG Khalid Mehmood and RPO Faisalabad Abdul Razzaq Cheema besides three SP-rank officers.
Earlier, DIG Fayyaz Sunbal (who recently died in a suicide blast in Quetta) was forced to go there despite his reluctance. He was PSO to IG Punjab Malik Habib. His boss had also tried to cancel his transfer orders but in vain as the Balochistan-domiciled Sunbal was reluctant to go back to Quetta for security reasons.
Other than police officers, several DMG officers have also been transferred from the Punjab to Balochistan. Even those relieved together with Sherdil have been there since September last year. They were Sheikhupura District Coordination Officer (DCO) Asadur Rehman Gillani, Nankana Sahib DCO Hassan Iqbal, Cooperatives Registrar Shehryar Sultan, Punjab Education Sector Reforms Program Additional Program Director Amir Sultan Tareen and Jhang Additional District Collector Wali Muhammad.
Balochistan mainly lacked DMG officials. There were only four officials serving there in BS-19 in September 2012 against 37 vacancies of the grade. There were 35 vacancies in BS-18.
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