PESHAWAR: A major reshuffle was carried out in the security staff of the Chief Minister’s House, involving the transfer and posting of 53 policemen from the Special Branch, Frontier Reserve Police (FRP), Capital City Police (CCP) Security Unit, and other wings.
Some social media reports claimed that several cops were replaced on suspicion of involvement in leaking information about the CM’s House and the chief minister’s activities to members of a rival group within the party.
A faction within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has, in recent days, become increasingly vocal in its opposition to the chief minister and his policies. Members of this group have openly criticized Sohail Afridi and his team on social media platforms.
Some have even alleged that certain individuals within Afridi’s cabinet are maneuvering to replace him.
Soon after the appointment of Mohammad Sohail Afridi as chief minister, the chief security officer to former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur and a couple of other officers were immediately replaced.
Now, just before Eid, 39 policemen from the FRP, CCP Security Unit, Special Branch, and other wings have been posted for security at the CM’s House.
They include Sub-Inspectors Jahanzeb Khan and Idrees Khan; ASI Mir Dad Khan; Head Constables Muhammad Zia, Dolat Khan, Ijaz Hussain, and Jannat Naeem; and Constables Faiz-ul-Islam, Hamza, Fakher Ali, Wajid Ali, Faiz Alam, M. Abbas, Abuzar, Shehzad Ali, Muzaffar Shah, Gohar Ali, Yasir, Atta Ullah, Adnan Murad, Shahab Jan, Ihtisham-ul-Haq, Zeeshan, Haroon, Ramzan Ali, M. Abbas, Hassan Tariq, Said Anwar, Jamal Shah, Shah Nawaz, Naveed Gul, Sohail, Mukaram, Junaid Saeed, M. Ali, Khaliq Dad, Nazeef Ullah, Zaka Ullah, and Saif-ur-Rehman. Besides, 13 policemen who had been deployed at the CM’s House for a long time have been transferred to other units.
Officials, however, termed it a routine transfer-posting process.
“It is a routine transfer and nothing as such as being reported on social media. All actions have been taken by the unit heads and not directed by the CM’s Secretariat,” Zahoor Afridi, chief security officer to the KP chief minister, told The News.
A senior official of the Special Branch said that around 25 cops who had been posted at the CM’s House for over 10 years have been replaced.
He added that a similar exercise was carried out a couple of years ago to reshuffle personnel who had been posted there for long periods.
