Zulfiqar Hameed has been appointed as the next Inspector General of Police (IGP) for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, replacing Akhtar Hayat Gandapur.

The federal government announced the replacement of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police head in two different notifications. One stated that Akhtar Hayat was instructed to report to the Establishment Division, and the other announced Zulfiqar Hameed’s appointment as the new IGP for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Since taking office, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has reportedly sought to alter the IGP. Prior to this, Zulfiqar Hameed was assigned to Punjab.

Currently working as Punjab’s additional IG Special Branch is Zulfiqar Hameed.

Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, a BPS-21 officer, was named the inspector general of police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the federal government in February 2023. He was Moazzam Jah Ansari’s replacement.

Three well-known police officials were put forth by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to serve as IGP in the interim. “The names of three senior officers, Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, Saeed Wazir and Dr Sohail Habib Tajik, were sent to the federal government and the Establishment Division for posting one of them as IGP KP,” according to news sources.

The most senior of the three officers, Akhtar Hayat, had finished the 22nd Common Training Programme (CTP) of the Pakistan Police Service. Prior to being named IGP, he was an additional director general at the Federal Investigation Agency. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and other forces, he served as a DIG.

The prime minister had examined the three top police officers in order to select a possible IGP before the assignment. One of the officers was unable to attend due to prior commitments, thus the other two were later interviewed by the province’s acting chief minister.