Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat Gandapur has been removed from his post, and replaced with Zulfiqar Hameed.

According to two separate notifications issued by the federal government, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief has been changed. Akhtar Hayat has been directed to report to the Establishment Division, one said, while the other one notified the posting of Zulfiqar Hameed as the new IGP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to a report, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had been wanting to change the IGP since coming to power. Zulfiqar Hameed was previously posted in Punjab.

Zulfiqar Hameed is currently serving as the additional IG Special Branch in Punjab.

The federal government had appointed BPS-21 officer, Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, as the inspector general of police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in February 2023. He had succeeded Moazzam Jah Ansari.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration had proposed three prominent police officers for the position of IGP during the interim period. "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 reports.

Akhtar Hayat was the most senior of the three officers, having completed the Pakistan Police Service's 22nd Common Training Programme (CTP). He was serving as an additional director general for the Federal Investigation Agency before being appointed as the IGP. He has worked as a DIG in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and other forces.

Prior to the assignment, the prime minister had interviewed the three senior police officers to pick a potential IGP. Later, the caretaker chief minister of the province interviewed two of the officers, as one was unable to attend owing to prior engagements.