Mr Durrani had once served as Islamabad police chief. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had appointed him the inspector general of Sindh police in the wake of a deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi.—File Photo

ISLAMABAD: The government decided on Friday to appoint Sindh police chief Wajid Durrani as the director general of Intelligence Bureau (IB).

The other officer considered for the post, Traffic Police Additional Inspector General Mushtaq Shah, also had a good deal as he will be the new Sindh IG.

According to private TV channels the establishment division has issued a notification on the appointments, but officials here declined to confirm or deny the report.

According to sources, both officers of the Police Service were in the run for the IB office, but Mr Durrani turned out to be more trustworthy for Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

The post had been vacant since Oct 2 when Javed Noor’s tenure as the bureau’s DG ended. He had assumed the responsibility on May 17, 2009.

The sources said the higher authorities had given their nod to the new appointment.

Mr Durrani had once served as Islamabad police chief. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had appointed him the inspector general of Sindh police in the wake of a deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi.

He is due to retire in May next year, which means he, if appointed, will have just seven months to serve as IB chief because it will be difficult for the government to extend his tenure in view of a Supreme Court ruling on the issue.

Mr Durrani was one of the accused in the assassination of Mir Murtaza Bhutto in Karachi and was acquitted of the charge along with other police officers.

He is the third civilian IB chief nominated by the present government after Mr Noor and Dr Shoaib Suddle. The bureau was mostly run by retired military officers in the past.

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