PESHAWAR, March 11: The federal government has posted Malik Naveed Khan, a grade 21 officer from the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), as the new provincial police officer of the NWFP.

A notification issued on Tuesday by the establishment division, Islamabad, said the competent authority had posted Malik Naveed as the new police chief by replacing Mohammad Sharif Verik, who attained the age of superannuation.

Mr Naveed, who still holds the charge of Commandant of the Frontier Constabulary, will assume his new assignment on Wednesday.

Sources said the government was reviewing a proposal of assigning the charge of the PPO and the Commandant of the Frontier Constabulary to a single officer in view of the prevailing law and order situation in the province and its adjoining tribal areas, which needed extraordinary arrangements. They said if materialised the proposal would allow smooth and swift deployment of the two forces whenever required.

Tuesday’s notification says nothing about the proposal but, according to the sources, a final decision to this effect is expected soon because no one has so far been appointed as the Commandant of the Frontier Constabulary.

Malik Naveed joined the PSP in 1971. He served as the SP, Mansehra; DIGP (crimes), Sindh; DIGP (traffic), Sindh; DIGP, Hazara range; DIGP, Peshawar range; Commandant of the Fron-tier Reserved Police, NWFP; DIGP (traffic), NWFP; Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau; and Director (crimes), FIA, Peshawar Zone. He also served as Community Welfare Attaché in the Pakistan Embassy in Kuwait for five years. He was posted as the Commandant of the Frontier Constabulary in May 2006.