Punjab CM removes Jhang DC over PERA vehicle in Thal jeep rally

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has ordered the immediate removal of Jhang Deputy Commissioner Babar Sahib Din after a Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority (PERA) vehicle was seen taking part in the three-day Jhang Thal Jeep Rally, which ended last week.

The chief minister announced the decision on X on Sunday, saying the use of government resources for activities unrelated to official duty was a serious breach of administrative discipline and of established policy. She also dismissed suggestions that the vehicle had been deployed for security or rescue cover, stating that security is the responsibility of the police while emergency response belongs to Rescue 1122.

Neither function, she wrote, falls within PERA's statutory mandate, and she asked why a PERA vehicle had been assigned duties outside the authority's legal remit.

ProPakistani reported that the decision followed a video circulating on social media showing the PERA vehicle moving alongside other vehicles in the rally.

Later on Sunday, the Services and General Administration Department issued a notification confirming Babar Sahib Din's transfer on the orders of the governor of Punjab and directing him to report to the department for further instructions, according to ProPakistani.

The removal came days after PERA Director General Farrukh Atiq Khan issued an October 21 letter ordering deputy commissioners and chairpersons of District Enforcement and Regulatory Boards to investigate the unauthorised use of the authority's vehicles. The letter said double-cabin vehicles allotted exclusively for PERA field operations were being used for other purposes, and that in some cases deputy commissioners had assigned them to assistant deputy commissioners in violation of policy. Officials were told to recover every vehicle being used without authorisation.

Jhang District Information Officer Riaz Marth told Dawn that the rally was organised in collaboration with private sponsors and had received appreciation from provincial government authorities.

Neither the chief minister's office nor the Jhang district administration issued any further comment on the transfer. It was not immediately clear who would replace Babar Sahib Din in Jhang.

The Punjab government has in recent months positioned PERA as its main enforcement body for price control and regulatory checks at the district level, with dedicated vehicles for field teams. The chief minister's intervention centres on the argument that those resources were diverted from that work.