The federal government on Wednesday transferred Wajid Zia to the National Police Bureau and replaced him with Sanaullah Abbasi as the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The development led analysts to speculate about the reported tussle between Zia and some PTI leaders.
According to a notification issued by the federal government, Wajid Zia has been posted as the director general of the National Police Bureau “with immediate effect”.
On the other hand, Moazzam Jah Ansari will take over from Abbasi as the inspector general of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police. Ansari was previously serving as the commandant of the Frontier Constabulary.
In Ansari’s place, Salahuddin Khan, a Grade-21 officer, has been posted as the new FC commandant. Khan was earlier posted as IG Azad Kashmir. He has been replaced by Sohail Habib Tajik, a Grade-20 officer as the IG Azad Kashmir.
According the Establishment Division notification, the services of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) M5 Motorway Police Sher Akbar, a Grade-20 officer, had been handed over to the Punjab Police.
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Wajid Zia, a senior officer in the Police Service of Pakistan, is retiring on March 27, 2022 after completing his tenure. Zia was the head of the joint investigation team (JIT) which was formed in the Panama papers case against the Sharif family. Later the government appointed him as the FIA DG.
Previously Zia, had served as the Additional Director General (Immigration), FIA, and serving in the FIA’s Financial Crimes Wing. He had also served in the Intelligence Bureau and the Motorway Police. He was also part of the Hajj scandal probe team.
The major shuffle came after Wajid Zia developed differences with some senior officials of ruling Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Nation reported citing sources. Zia was set to retire in March 2022 after completing his service.