ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Wednesday made a couple of important changes in the law enforcement bureaucracy, removing Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Ahmed Ishaque Jehangir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat from their positions.

Zulfiqar Hameed has been appointed new police chief for KP, according to a notification issued by the Establishment Division.

“Mr Zulfiqar Hameed, a BS-21 officer of Police Service of Pakistan, presently serving under Government of the Punjab, is transferred and posted as Provincial Police Officer (PPO), Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” it said.

“Mr Akhtar Hayat, a BS-21 officer of Police Service of Pakistan, presently serving as Provincial Police Officer government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Section 10 of the Civil Servants Act, 1973, is transferred and directed to report to Establishment Division with immediate effect and until further orders.”

Ahmed Ishaque accused of ‘not actively following’ PM’s orders on human trafficking

According to another notification, Mr Jehangir, currently serving as director general of FIA under Interior Division, has been transferred and posted as an ‘officer on special duty’ in the Establishment Division, with immediate effect and until further orders.

Sources in the bureaucracy claimed that while IGP Hayat’s transfer was a routine matter, the sudden removal of Mr Jehangir was not. Insiders suggest the main reason for his rem­oval was his apparent failure to counter the menace of human trafficking.

Sources said a high-level committee was examining the Greece boat tragedy, in which 80 Pakistanis had lost their lives. The FIA chief was also a member of the committee, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sha­rif was overseeing its performance.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2025