Punjab govt extends charge of interim IG Kunwar Shahrukh

Punjab government on Thursday extended the interim appointment of Elite Force Additional Inspector General (IG) Kunwar Muhammad Shahrukh as IG Punjab until December 2.

The provincial government also gave Punjab IG Faisal Shahkar a nine-day casual leave beginning on November 23 by the Revised Leave Rules, 1981.

Earlier, IG Faisal Shahkar obtained a 14-day leave of absence from Pakistan from November 10 to November 23 to perform Umrah.

This leave was given so the Punjab government could manage its operations without the current IG, who was embroiled in a dispute over the Wazirabad FIR problem.

On November 6, Faisal Shahkar requested that his services be terminated from the Punjab government with “immediate effect,” since the impasse over the FIR had resulted in a barrage of criticism from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) officials, tarnishing his otherwise purportedly impeccable service record.

The Punjab government affirms that the federal government refused the IG’s request for a transfer and, as a result, refused the provincial government’s request to choose a new IG Punjab from a panel of three officers, despite the federal government having limited authority following the 18th Amendment.

Similar circumstances applied to the Punjab chief secretary, who had also asked to be removed from the province. After his petitions were repeatedly denied, he went on leave in September to create room for the Punjab government to send an official of its preference.