In a dramatic development, Pakistan's Election Commission Tuesday suspended the appointment of Amjad Javed Saleemi as the Punjab police chief, hours after the Cabinet Secretariat issued a notification appointing him as the provincial police chief.
The Election Commission informed the Establishment Division through a letter that it had suspended the notification as it was a violation of its directives of September 3, banning postings and transfers of government officials ahead of the by-elections scheduled for October 14, Dawn reported.
Through the letter, the Election Commission director (elections) has instructed the secretary of the Establishment Division to explain within two days why its directions "have not been complied with", the paper said.
Earlier in the day, the Inspector General of Police for Punjab had been changed for a second time in two months, as Saleemi replaced Muhammad Tahir as the provincial police chief, the paper said.
The Cabinet Secretariat's notification had announced the change "with immediate effect and until further orders". There was no reason mentioned for the transfer in the notification.
With the suspension of the notification, Tahir has been reinstated as the Punjab police chief.
Saleemi was serving as the commandant of National Police Academy until recently, before which he had been posted as the Sindh IGP.
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