Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Malik Baloch on Thursday suspended the services of Superintendent Police City Samiullah Soomro following a clash between guards of senior minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri and policemen at the entrance of the Balochistan Assembly.
Private guards are not allowed to enter assembly premises as per the directives of Balochistan Assembly Speaker Jan Muhammad Jamali.
However, justifying the suspension of senior police officer, Chief Minister Dr Baloch said that since Sardar Zehri had tribal disputes therefore his private security guards closely guard him. Zehri had arrived at the assembly to cast his vote for the Senate by-elections.
The clash erupted when private security guards of the senior minister were entering the Balochistan Assembly premises in their private vehicles when police stopped them at the gate. The policemen on duty objected to the men carrying weapons following which hot words were exchanged between the two parties.
After the clash, policemen deployed in and outside the Balochistan Assembly staged a protest. Dr Baloch and Jan Jamali later convinced them to return to their duties.
A police official who was part of the protest and did not want to be named said the incident had affected the morale of policemen.
“Now we cannot stop any influential personality’s private guards after this incident,” he said.