The caretaker set up of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has removed Moazzam Jah Ansari from the post of inspector general of police, a development which was expected after the interim government got control of the province.

However, it was delayed after a suicide bomber killed at least 84 people and wounded more than 100 in a mosque in the highly fortified area in Peshawar last month.

Akhtar Hayat Khan has succeeded him as the next IG Police of KP, said the notification issued by the government. Khan has also served as the regional police officer in Swat and Malakand.

“With the approval of the federal government, Mr Akhtar Hayat, a BS-21 Officer of Police Service of Pakistan, presently serving in Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), under the Interior Division, is transferred and posted as Provincial Police Officer (PPO),” said the notification.

Two days back, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) sought clarification from the former KP IG over his statement pertaining to terrorism in the province at a presser.

“Policemen at the entrance of the Police Lines failed to check the attacker because they thought he was their own,” Ansari said while addressing a press conference on February 2. He got emotional while sharing the details of the investigation into the explosion.

He did not rule out the possibility of inside support while appearing on Aaj News show Faisla Aap Ka.

“The appointment of impartial officers during the election is very important,” the ECP had said at the meeting where Ansari was summoned.

The federal government decided on February 6 to change the KP IG of police and sought names for the coveted slot from the Establishment Division.