Phairoosch Retirement Submitted to 241 Committee

Speaker of Parliament and former President Mohamed Nasheed has submitted a motion to the Parliament Committee on Security Services, regarding the retirement of Dr. Abdullah Phairoosch, from his position as the Assistant Commissioner of Police.

The case was submitted by the Speaker today. In his motion, Speaker Nasheed stated that the President had already ratified the new Police Service Act and that an officer can retire under the terms set in said Act. Any retirement that contravenes the new Act, he added, would not be legal.

Clause 112 of the Act, states that an officer who retires fearing disciplinary action, for an offense committed during his tenure, would not be discharged honorably. The clause defines honorable discharge as retirement with no pending or possible disciplinary actions.

Phairoosch had filed for retirement six months prior. He had served in Maldives Police Service (MPS) for 20 years and currently is teaching in an Australian university.

His retirement was heavily criticized by several members of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). However, the current Commissioner of Police as well as President Ibrahim Mohamed Salih had thanked him for his years of service to the nation. President Salih had even requested Dr. Phairoosch to extend his tenure in MPS.

Dr. Phairoosch earned his PhD in Law Enforcement Intelligence. At the time of his retirement he was serving as head of MPS' Resource Management division.