Mushtaq Mahar to take charge as Sindh IGP, says Firdous Ashiq Awan

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Friday approved Mushtaq Mahar’s appointment as Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP), according to Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan.

In a tweet, Dr Awan said:"The federal cabinet has approved the appointment of Mushtaq Mahar as IG Sindh. "The decision has been made after consultations with the province's governor and the Sindh government's demand," the premier's aide added.

"We hope that the new IG keeps aside any political associations to work on ensuring that peace prevails and crime is eradicated in Sindh." The federal and Sindh governments had been at loggerheads over the appointment of the new IGP for the past few weeks.

On January 15, the provincial cabinet had requested the Centre to remove Sindh IGP Kaleem Imam over unsatisfactory performance. A few days later, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had sent a formal request to Prime Minister Imran Khan in this regard.

More than a week later, on January 27, the PTI-led federal government had reportedly reached a consensus with the Sindh government on Mahar's appointment as the new Sindh IGP.

Then, earlier this month, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani had alleged that the federal government was trying to impose its decision on the provincial authorities over the Sindh IGP's appointment.

"The provincial government would never accept such a move," Ghani had said at the time. The minister had further claimed that PM Imran Khan, in a meeting with Shah back in December, had agreed to replace incumbent IGP Kaleem Imam.