PESHAWAR: Nasir Khan Durrani replaced Ehsan Ghani as Inspector-General (IG) Police of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Monday, DawnNews reported.

The government of KP had earlier requested the federal government for the appointment, as Ghani had been posted by the caretaker government.

The police reshuffling was formally initiated after the May 11 elections. Sources close to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif revealed that Secretary Establishment Division Shahid Aziz had forwarded a summary to the premier to this effect, in which the names of three officers had been nominated for the post of IG KP police.

Nominees for the post of IG police included the then Punjab Counter Terrorism Department Additional IG Nasir Khan Durrani, Regional Police Officer (RPO) Rawalpindi Nasim ul Zaman and Additional IG Khalid Masood.

Sources also revealed that the Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif had been reluctant to let Nasir Durrani go because of his highly professional reputation and good performance.

The appointment came a day after the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was shaken by a heinous attack on churchgoers.

The attack claimed 81 lives and injured over 100. Thirty-four women and seven children were among the dead. Seventeen injured were reported to be in critical condition.