Islamabad:
A total of 324 policemen having a waistline of more than 38 inches will no longer be allowed to carry out field jobs in Pakistan's Punjab province and have been transferred to police lines.
A police report was compiled after measuring waistlines of officials from the rank of constable to inspector. It found that of the total strength of 19,000 personnel of Rawalpindi Police, only 4,269 were found to have a waistline of less than 38 inches, The News International reported on Friday.
A total of 14,731 officials - or 77 per cent - were marked as having pot bellies, including 74 inspectors, 894 sub-inspectors, 2,251 assistant sub-inspectors, 4,103 head constables and 7,409 constables.
Warning letters have been issued to 14,731 policemen, with the advice to reduce their waistlines before July 1.
The fat officials have been transferred to the Punjab Constabulary for two years.
Some officials who took part in the waistline measurement test raised objections that an inspector deputed to measure their bellies himself carried an oversized tummy with the waistline of 41 inches.
They alleged that officers from the rank of Deputy Superintendant of Police (DSP) to the top were excluded from the count.