Sindh cabinet approves removal of Syed Kaleem Imam as IGP.

KARACHI -- Sindh cabinet has approved the removal of Inspector General of Police Sindh Dr. Syed Kaleem Imam, and will write a letter to the federal government regarding the appointment of new IGP.

In an emergency meeting which was presided over by Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, the cabinet unanimously decided to appoint a new IG as three names - Ghulam Qadir Thebo, Mustaq Meher and Kamran Fazal - were proposed for the post.

The provincial cabinet stated that nominated person, Thebo, is an officer of good reputation and have worked in various positions in the province.

The Chief Minister expressed that he would like to keep the police separate from the politics. He asserted that the police chief should refrain from giving political statements. 'Any SSP or police officer who is fond of politics should do politics,' he added.

The reasons for Imam's removal were stated as his alleged non-cooperation with the Sindh government, failure to implement directives issued from the CM House, and frequent absence in key meetings of the government.

In Sept 2018, Dr. Syed Kaleem Imam was appointed as the inspector general of Sindh police.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said that a number of reasons for the current IG's removal have piled up. "Today's meeting was held after the Sindh government had written a letter to the IG on December 13 to inform him of their intention to get the establishment division involved in the matter," Ghani said.

Discussing some of the reservations the provincial government has with Imam, Ghani said: "At certain points, the Sindh IG gave some irresponsible statements regarding transfers and postings."

"Furthermore, the IG kept writing letters to various embassies directly. According to the rules, a police chief cannot directly write letters to embassies. If one has to conduct any such correspondence, it needs to happen through the foreign office or through the provincial government's administrative body," the minister added.

Ghani also mentioned the "mishandling" of the Bisma and the Dua Mangi kidnapping cases as one of the reasons for the cabinet's decision. "Dua Mangi's family was not ready to cooperate with police regarding her kidnapping and once she had returned, the Sindh chief minister had to give a number of assurances in order for them to record their statement with the police."

Ghani also mentioned the Irshad Ranjhani case, "This case was mishandled by the...