The federal cabinet on Tuesday approved the appointment of Kamran Ali Afzal as the Punjab chief secretary and Sardar Ali Khan as Punjab inspector general of police (IGP) with immediate effect according to a notification from the Cabinet Secretariat.

       Khan replaced Inam Ghani who was transferred and posted as the inspector general of Pakistan Railways Police with immediate effect, said a notification.

       Azhar Mashwani, the Punjab chief minister's focal person for digital media, also confirmed the appointments in a post on Twitter.

       Afzal is the fifth Punjab chief secretary while Khan is the seventh IGP during the three years of the PTI-led government.

       The new Punjab chief secretary belongs to the 21st Common of the District Management Group while the new IGP belongs to 18th Common and is currently serving as the managing director of the Punjab Safe Cities Authority.

       The latter has a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, and a Masters of Law (LLM) from the London School of Economics. He also served as the Balochistan deputy inspector general of police (Headquarters) and Khanewal divisional police officer for the Punjab police.

       According to official sources, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had recommended three names each for the new Punjab chief secretary and the IGP to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

       For the chief secretary, CM Buzdar had reportedly recommended the names of Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera, Afzal and Babar Hayat Tarrar and for IGP his picks were Khan, Zafar Iqbal and Mohsin Butt.