PESHAWAR: Key details of the proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police Act 2026 have emerged, granting sweeping administrative, operational and financial policy-making powers to the Chief Minister while curtailing the authority of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
According to the proposed legislation, the official notification for the appointment of the KP IGP will be issued by the provincial government. If the provincial administration remains dissatisfied with the IGP’s performance, it can request additional names from the federal government for a replacement.
In the absence of the IGP, the Additional IG Headquarters will temporarily assume charge. Meanwhile, the authority to transfer DSPs and ASPs has been vested in the Home Secretary.
Under the new act, transfers of SPs, SSPs, and Additional IGs will be executed by the Chief Minister, with notifications to be issued by the administrative department. Furthermore, the police will no longer be permitted to submit direct responses in legal matters; all legal replies must first be approved by the Law Department and the Advocate General’s Office.
The act also transfers the chairmanship of the Police Policy Board from the IGP to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. All operational, administrative, and financial policies concerning the police department will now fall directly under the purview of the Chief Minister, making administrative affairs subject to provincial government directives.
The proposed modifications to the KP Police Act have triggered serious reservations among senior police department officials.
Sources indicate that consultations regarding the proposed reforms are ongoing among officers ranging from Grade 18 to Grade 20. However, several senior officers have raised alarms, warning that if sweeping powers are handed over to the Chief Minister at the expense of the IGP’s authority, multiple senior officials may seek transfers out of the province.
Reports suggest that certain Pakistan Police Service (PSP) group officers are expressing a desire to move to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Frontier Corps (FC), while some District Police Officers (DPOs) currently stationed in the province are reportedly preparing to seek transfers to Punjab and Islamabad.
Police sources warn that growing unease over political intervention and potential institutional changes could lead to an acute shortage of officers, creating a fresh administrative vacuum in the province and potentially jeopardizing the local law and order situation.
