Six KP IGPs changed in four years

PESHAWAR: The new inspector general of police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Moazzam Jah Ansari has said his priority will be to improve the overall law and order situation in the province, promote the positive image of the force and provide relief to the common man.

Ansari was appointed the IGP of KP on Wednesday in place of Dr Sanaullah Abbasi, who has been made the new director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Salahuddin Mahsud has been appointed the commandant of the Frontier Constabulary in place of Moazzam Jah Ansari.

"I will do my best to improve the law and order situation and ensure that the common man gets respect in police stations, offices, at checkpoints and other places," the newly-appointed IGP told The News.

He said merit would be ensured in postings as well as all the affairs of the KP Police. Moazzam Jah Ansari is the 29th provincial police officer of KP. He is the seventh police chief of the province after six were changed since March 2017 when Nasir Khan Durrani retired after reaching the age of superannuation.

Nasir Durrani remained the chief of the KP Police for almost three and a half years. After his retirement, Akhtar Ali Shah looked after the KP Police for a couple of weeks before Salahuddin Mahsud was posted as IGP. He remained in office till June 2018.

Salahuddin Mahsud was replaced by Mohammad Tahir, who served in the office for three months. In September 2018, Salahuddin Mahsud was again posted as IGP KP while Mohammad Tahir was posted as IGP Punjab. This was the time when the government had planned to introduce policing in the tribal areas after its merger with the KP.

Salahuddin Mahsud continued as IGP hardly for few months in the second term as Dr Naeem Khan was made IG KP in February 2019. Salahuddin Mahsud was posted as police chief of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

In January 2020, Naeem Khan was replaced by Sanaullah Abbasi who remained as the KP police chief till June 8, 2021. Sanaullah Abbasi was made director general FIA on Wednesday and was replaced by Moazzam Jah Ansari as IGP KP.

Moazzam Jah Ansari is the 29th Provincial Police Officer of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He belongs to the Police Service of Pakistan from 17th Common. He served in BPS-21 as the Commandant of the Frontier Constabulary for a long time.

Moazzam Jah Ansari, 56, has already served as the Inspector General of Balochistan Police from October 2017 to June 2018. He earlier served as Joint Director General Intelligence Bureau (Balochistan), Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Gwadar and Director FIA in Sindh. He was awarded the Quaid-e-Azam Police Medal during his service.