The Sindh government on Friday abruptly removed the Karachi police chief, Additional Inspector General Imran Yaqoob Minhas, after only nine months on the post and replaced him with Ghulam Nabi Memon.

The change comes amid growing complaints of a rise in street crime in the metropolitan city from all segments of society, which have also called out the security administration for its failure to curb such incidents.

Read: Businessmen voice concern over growing street crime

However, Memon's appointment as Karachi police chief came as a surprise to many as he was transferred from the same office in May 2021 and given charge of Special Branch, Sindh — a post that was previously held by Minhas.

A host of new challenges await the new police chief, including a growing number of street crimes, questions regarding the performance of the force in the port city and allegations of protecting high-profile suspects such as those in the Nazim Jokhio murder and Dua Mangi kidnapping cases.

In the notification, Sindh Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah said: "Ghulam Nabi Memon, an officer of Police Service of Pakistan (BS-21), additional inspector general of police, Special Branch, Sindh, is transferred and posted with immediate effect and until further orders as additional inspector general of police, Karachi range vice Imran Yaqoob Minhas, transferred.”

The notification added that Minhas, an officer of Police Service of Pakistan (BS-21), had been transferred and posted as the additional inspector general of police at the Sindh Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).

In addition, Allah Bux alias Javed Akhtar Odho, an officer of Police Service of Pakistan (BS-21), was appointed the additional inspector general of police, Special Branch, Sindh, in place of Memon.

Memon was appointed the Karachi police chief for the first time in July 2019. He was transferred as the federal government had requisitioned his services.

The Establishment Division, in a letter to the Sindh government, had contended that as per the new policy, the transfer of an officer was required if he or she had served in a province continuously for 10 years.

However, the Sindh government had shown reluctance to hand over the services of Memon to the federal government and appointed him as the chief of Special Branch.

Meanwhile, a source at chief minister’s house said he believed that it was a "routine administrative change".