Update: This is a follow-up to our 25 October report on the removal of Jhang Deputy Commissioner Babar Sahib Din. The new developments below — the chief minister’s response to claims about the vehicle’s role, and the PERA chief’s province-wide order — have emerged since that report.
A day after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif ordered the removal of Jhang Deputy Commissioner Babar Sahib Din, the chief minister has rejected suggestions that the Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority (PERA) vehicle seen in a jeep rally was there for security or rescue purposes.
Security is the responsibility of the police, she pointed out, while rescue and emergency response fall within the mandate of Rescue 1122. Neither function falls within PERA’s statutory mandate, she said, adding that the activity in question therefore has no apparent connection with PERA’s prescribed duties and raises serious concerns about the rationale for deploying its vehicle in the rally.
The row centres on a video that circulated on social media showing a PERA double-cabin vehicle travelling alongside other vehicles during a privately organised desert rally in Jhang held from 16 to 18 October. Taking notice of the footage, the chief minister announced on Sunday 25 October that the deputy commissioner was being removed from his post with immediate effect, describing the deployment of a regulatory authority’s resources for non-serious purposes beyond its officially prescribed mandate as a serious breach of administrative discipline and a violation of established policy.
The provincial Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) subsequently notified the transfer of Babar Sahib Din, a Grade-18 Pakistan Administrative Service officer, directing him to report to the department for further orders. As reported earlier, the order is a transfer from the post — not a suspension or dismissal from government service — and the chief minister’s statement named no political figure.
PERA chief orders vehicles pulled back across Punjab
In a related development, PERA Director General retired Captain Farrukh Atiq Khan has written to all deputy commissioners across Punjab — who also serve as ex-officio chairpersons of their District Enforcement and Regulatory Boards — seeking the immediate withdrawal of unauthorised vehicle allocations.
In his letter of 21 October, after the jeep rally had concluded, the director general said it had been observed that PERA double-cabin vehicles issued to deputy commissioners for PERA field operations exclusively were being engaged in unauthorised activities and operations. The letter also noted that some deputy commissioners had handed over PERA vehicles to assistant commissioners, which was a violation of the authority’s official policy, and directed that vehicles be retrieved or withdrawn from any unauthorised allocation.
The episode has exposed how widely official vehicles had been turned into personal protocol squads, according to Dawn’s reporting, and the director general’s letter suggests the problem extends well beyond Jhang.
What PERA is — and why the case matters
PERA, created in the middle of last year, was set up to conduct anti-encroachment and price-control operations across Punjab, including crackdowns on hoarding, price-gouging and encroachment. In May, however, complaints emerged about its officials taking bribes from vendors and shopkeepers, prompting the chief minister to order a crackdown on officials involved in illegal actions and harassment of the public, along with a June 30 deadline for field officials to wear body cameras and directions to upgrade the force’s internal intelligence and whistleblower system.
The Jhang case therefore sits inside a wider debate about the discipline and credibility of a young enforcement force — and about whether officials who lend state machinery to private events will face consequences beyond a single transfer.
No successor to Babar Sahib Din as Jhang deputy commissioner had been named in the reports available at the time of writing. Jhang News Network will update this story when a new appointment is announced.
Source: Dawn — “Jhang DC removed over use of Pera vehicle for ‘non-serious purposes’ in jeep rally: CM Maryam” (25 October 2026) and “Jhang DC removed over misuse of Pera vehicle” (26 October 2026); Pakistan Today (26 October 2026); Minute Mirror (25 October 2026).
