KARACHI: Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal has said that restricting officers from attending his meeting was ‘unfair’ act.
Reports yesterday claimed that the Sindh IG A.D. Khawaja had barred police officers from attending the home minister’s meeting without his explicit permission.
“He [Khawaja] has far better understanding of institutions’ jurisdiction than me. However, I could not understand the motive behind either seeking permission or reporting concerned headquarters before attending my meeting”, Siyal said while addressing a press conference here on Thursday.
The newly appointed Home Minister opined that the IG Sindh is subordinated to the provincial home ministry under the ‘Police Act’.
“I was informed that officers going out-station should report concerned headquarters but Sanaullah Abbasi, Khadim Hussain Bhatti, and Walliullah [who were in Karachi] were also told to seek permission”, he said.
Querying IG Sindh, he said whether the police chief sought permission from the Home Ministry before going out-station last night [in line with Police Act].
No police officer barred from attending home minister’s meeting: IG Sindh
Meanwhile, Khawaja responded to Siyal’s statement saying that no police officer was barred from attending the meeting.
However, he said that it is mandatory for the police officers to report at their concerned headquarters when they are performing duties in other districts of the province.
In a statement, AD Khawaja stated that his orders were in accordance with the instructions of higher authorities. “Some quarters are creating false impression for ulterior motives”, the statement added.
