The government removed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Naeem Khan because of his poor performance in extending police jurisdiction into the newly merged districts previously known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and some other administrative issues.
Official sources said the decision to remove Naeem Khan was taken during the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after Chief Minister Mehmood Khan expressed dissatisfaction with his performance.
Mehmood Khan, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reportedly stated that his government was not satisfied with Naeem Khan's performance, therefore it was necessary to replace him.
Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister for information when contacted said the decision to remove former IG was taken at the minister and chief minister's level and therefore he was unaware of the reasons which led to his removal.
Former IGP Sindh Afzal Shigri said the practice of transferring police officers every few months is not a solution to the problem and such practices would further deteriorate the performance of the police department.
The government should carefully look into an individual's record before appointing him and determine whether he is suitable for the post or not, he said, adding that if the government establishes that he is suitable then he should be posted for a fixed tenure (three years according to police order).
He said that police should be given administrative autonomy and freedom to take action against violators of law. "If police officials fail to deliver, then the government has the right to take action against them. There must be a solid reason and justification to transfer any police officer," he said, adding that only saying they are not satisfied with the performance of the IG is not a solid reason.
Dr Naeem was appointed as IG on February 11, 2019 and the third police chief to have been transferred under the Mahmood Khan administration. In September last year, the federal government had transferred Mohammad Tahir and appointed Salahuddin Khan Mesud as the police chief, but Mesud was also removed on February 9, 2019 due to a dispute over extension of the provincial police to the merged districts.
The government has now appointed Sanaullah Abbasi, a BS-21 officer of Police Service of Pakistan as IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who was serving as the Gilgit-Baltistan police chief, under the Kashmir affairs and GB division.
Abbasi was head of investigation committee of extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud - the committee which found Mehsud innocent and concluded that his killing was a result of a fake encounter.
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