FIA DG removed over failure to curb human smuggling

ISLAMABAD: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General (DG) Ahmad Ishaque Jehangir and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat have been removed from their posts.

The federal government removed the FIA DG and appointed him as an officer on special duty (OSD) to the Establishment Division. Sources revealed that the failure of several FIA officials and other authorities concerned in curbing human trafficking led to his dismissal.

“With the approval of the Federal Government, Mr Ahmad Ishaque Jehangir, a BS-21 Officer of [the] Police Service of Pakistan, presently serving as Director General, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), under [the] Interior Division, is transferred and posted as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in [the] Establishment Division, with immediate effect and until further orders,” a notification read.

The reshuffle reportedly comes in the wake of ongoing controversy of human smuggling from Pakistan as more and more cases of illegal migration and migrant boat tragedies have become alarmingly frequent.

Sources said that Jehangir’s removal was approved by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, reportedly for slow pace of investigations into the boat capsizing incidents and large-scale illegal migration.

They said the interior ministry would send a summary to the Cabinet Division for appointment of new FIA chief, while the Establishment Division had started shortlisting for the post.

Despite orders from PM Shehbaz Sharif to take stern action, the FIA’s crackdown on human smuggling networks had been sluggish. Jahangir’s failure to act decisively led to the dismissal of 13 FIA officials a day before his own removal, along with the suspension of three constables linked to the Greece boat disaster. Previously, 37 FIA officials suspected of involvement in human smuggling were also dismissed.

Jahangir was appointed as an interim FIA chief in January 2024 by the caretaker government following the retirement of Mohsin Butt.

Sources claim that Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar is a strong contender for the vacant post of FIA DG.

Meanwhile, sources said the government issued a notification removing KP IGP Akhtar Hayat due to his failure to maintain law and order in the province over an extended period.

Violence in Kurram has also brought the KP government under severe criticism as well as law enforcers. The Centre also time and again censured the provincial government for using state machinery to march on Islamabad. Hayat had instructed all police officers in November 2024 to refrain from participating in any political activities amid Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protests. He was transferred to the Establishment Division after he remained the top cop of KP for almost two years. He took over when the caretaker government was installed in the province in early 2023. He had replaced Moazzam Jah Ansari, who was then transferred as Commandant Frontier Constabulary and is currently Balochistan IGP.

Meanwhile, Zulfiqar Hameed was transferred and posted as KP new police chief, replacing Akhtar Hayat Khan. Belonging to the 23rd common training programme of the Police Service of Pakistan, he was serving as an additional IGP in Punjab before his posting as the KP police chief.

The new IGP is taking over the charge at a time when the province has been faced with frequent terrorist attacks, especially in the southern belt.