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AD Khawaja vs. PPP provincial government; the complete saga
Global Village Space |
GVS Analysis by Muhammad Azam |
The ongoing power struggle between Inspector-General Police of Sindh, Allah Dino Khawaja, and the provincial government of Pakistan Peoples Party continues to simmer. For the past several months, media reports of the tussle between IG Sindh AD Khawaja and the PPP controlled provincial government indicate that the clash has been intensifying.
On Thursday, newly appointed Sindh home minister Suhail Anwar Siyal held a meeting with senior police officers in which IG Sindh was absent. Later, news reports began circulating alleging that A.D. Khawaja had barred his subordinates from attending the meeting. These claims were denied by a police spokesperson who stated that the IG had not barred anyone rather, had asked his subordinates to inform him before attending any meetings with government officials.
The tussle between IG Sindh A.D. Khawaja and the Provincial government stems from Khawaja’s refusal to obey the whims of the political elites of the region
The home minister criticized this order of the IG, calling it childish. He went on to disparage the Sindh IG and said “He is the subordinate of my subordinates … If he hatches a conspiracy against the government, people of Sindh will foil his designs”
This very public conflict between the provincial government and the head of police is an exceptionally disturbing phenomenon because it points to the underlying dysfunction plaguing Sindh.
Read More: Sindh High Court Reinstates A. D. Khowaja and Adds to the…
GVS has endeavored to shed light and present an in-depth analysis of the current turmoil faced by the Police in Sindh, its origins, and the broader consequences of this conflict for the province.
Dynamics of the relationship between Sindh Police and Provincial Government
To get to the heart of the ongoing conflict it is essential to understand the dynamic between the provincial government and the police for which we must refer to the laws that dictate their relationship.
The Police Ordinance of 2002, enacted by the Musharraf government, took steps to depoliticize the provincial police departments. It gave the high command of the police a certain degree of autonomy in its fundamental functions, namely: adjudication, prosecution, and investigation by limiting the influence of the political establishment as ascribed in the 1861 Police Act. These measures also provided the Inspector General with a guaranteed tenure of 3 years. However, despite this directive, during the period from 2005 to 2011, there were 7 different IG Sindh appointments serving from anywhere between 2 to 15 months. These brief tenures were naturally insufficient for the IGs to establish themselves and did not impede the politicization of the Sindh police.
Without the support of the Sindh government, the IG cannot be effective at making reforms and enforcing policy.
On 15th July 2011, the Sindh Assembly repealed the Police Ordinance 2002 and restored the archaic 1861 Police Act. Rights activists and legal experts are of the opinion that this move restored the iron grip of the political elite on the province’s police department. Resultantly, after 2011, the provincial government had wide-ranging authority with regards to recruitment, posting, and administration of the Sindh police.
The tussle between IG Sindh A.D. Khawaja and the Provincial government stems from Khawaja’s refusal to obey the whims of the political elites of the region, from a legal perspective the latter seem to have an upper hand.
Without the support of the Sindh government, the IG cannot be effective at making reforms and enforcing policy. Current reports indicate that IG Khawaja has been purposefully kept out of the loop by government officials in an attempt to curb his influence.
Salient features of the conflict
A.D. Khawaja was appointed as IG in March of 2016 after his predecessor, Ghulam Haider Jamali, was dismissed on corruption charges. In fact, Khawaja was one of the three members of the inquiry committee appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate Jamali.
Before taking charge as IG Sindh, Khawaja was serving as Additional Inspector-General Special Branch.
Read full article:
AD Khawaja vs. PPP provincial government; the complete saga
Global Village Space |
GVS Analysis by Muhammad Azam |
The ongoing power struggle between Inspector-General Police of Sindh, Allah Dino Khawaja, and the provincial government of Pakistan Peoples Party continues to simmer. For the past several months, media reports of the tussle between IG Sindh AD Khawaja and the PPP controlled provincial government indicate that the clash has been intensifying.
On Thursday, newly appointed Sindh home minister Suhail Anwar Siyal held a meeting with senior police officers in which IG Sindh was absent. Later, news reports began circulating alleging that A.D. Khawaja had barred his subordinates from attending the meeting. These claims were denied by a police spokesperson who stated that the IG had not barred anyone rather, had asked his subordinates to inform him before attending any meetings with government officials.
The tussle between IG Sindh A.D. Khawaja and the Provincial government stems from Khawaja’s refusal to obey the whims of the political elites of the region
The home minister criticized this order of the IG, calling it childish. He went on to disparage the Sindh IG and said “He is the subordinate of my subordinates … If he hatches a conspiracy against the government, people of Sindh will foil his designs”
This very public conflict between the provincial government and the head of police is an exceptionally disturbing phenomenon because it points to the underlying dysfunction plaguing Sindh.
Read More: Sindh High Court Reinstates A. D. Khowaja and Adds to the…
GVS has endeavored to shed light and present an in-depth analysis of the current turmoil faced by the Police in Sindh, its origins, and the broader consequences of this conflict for the province.
Dynamics of the relationship between Sindh Police and Provincial Government
To get to the heart of the ongoing conflict it is essential to understand the dynamic between the provincial government and the police for which we must refer to the laws that dictate their relationship.
The Police Ordinance of 2002, enacted by the Musharraf government, took steps to depoliticize the provincial police departments. It gave the high command of the police a certain degree of autonomy in its fundamental functions, namely: adjudication, prosecution, and investigation by limiting the influence of the political establishment as ascribed in the 1861 Police Act. These measures also provided the Inspector General with a guaranteed tenure of 3 years. However, despite this directive, during the period from 2005 to 2011, there were 7 different IG Sindh appointments serving from anywhere between 2 to 15 months. These brief tenures were naturally insufficient for the IGs to establish themselves and did not impede the politicization of the Sindh police.
Without the support of the Sindh government, the IG cannot be effective at making reforms and enforcing policy.
On 15th July 2011, the Sindh Assembly repealed the Police Ordinance 2002 and restored the archaic 1861 Police Act. Rights activists and legal experts are of the opinion that this move restored the iron grip of the political elite on the province’s police department. Resultantly, after 2011, the provincial government had wide-ranging authority with regards to recruitment, posting, and administration of the Sindh police.
The tussle between IG Sindh A.D. Khawaja and the Provincial government stems from Khawaja’s refusal to obey the whims of the political elites of the region, from a legal perspective the latter seem to have an upper hand.
Without the support of the Sindh government, the IG cannot be effective at making reforms and enforcing policy. Current reports indicate that IG Khawaja has been purposefully kept out of the loop by government officials in an attempt to curb his influence.
Salient features of the conflict
A.D. Khawaja was appointed as IG in March of 2016 after his predecessor, Ghulam Haider Jamali, was dismissed on corruption charges. In fact, Khawaja was one of the three members of the inquiry committee appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate Jamali.
Before taking charge as IG Sindh, Khawaja was serving as Additional Inspector-General Special Branch.
Read full article:
AD Khawaja vs. PPP provincial government; the complete saga
