The federal government on Friday appointed grade-21 officer Amir Zulfiqar Khan as the Inspector General (IG) of Islamabad police after former IG Jan Mohammad appeared reluctant to resume charge of his duties in the federal capital, DawnNewsTV reported.

According to a notification issued to this effect, Zulfiqar Khan was serving as the officer on special duty (OSD) in the Establishment Division before being “transferred and posted as IG Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police, under Interior Division, with immediate effect until further orders”.

Jan Mohammad, who had been reinstated by the Supreme Court as the IG after his removal by the government last week following a showdown between Federal Minister Azam Swati’s guards with his neighbours, was in Malaysia on ex-Pakistan leave to attend a course. He landed in Pakistan early on Thursday.

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, while taking a suo moto notice, had suspended the 'unlawful' transfer of the Islamabad police chief after it emerged that he had been removed from the post following verbal directives from Prime Minister Imran Khan.

On Friday, however, Jan Mohammad appeared reluctant to resume charge of his duties in Islamabad, after which the court removed its earlier suspension of the directives for the IGP's transfer.

Jan Mohammad, a retired lieutenant, and a BS-20 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), was posted out from the force and his services were surrendered to the Establishment Division.

On Thursday, the Sup­reme Court had rejected the federal government’s plea for the appointment of a new inspector general of Islamabad police.

Instead, the court directed the government to give acting charge of the IG office to a senior officer in view of the sensitive law and order situation prevailing in the capital after religio-political groups launched agitation against the Supreme Court decision to acquit Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman, in a blasphemy case.

Meanwhile, the apex court has mulled proceeding against Minister for Science and Technology Senator Azam Swati under Article 62 and ordered the formation of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the matter.

Local media had reported that the IGP was transferred because he did not attend Azam Swati's phone calls, but Swati has denied this.

The government also rejected the reports, saying that the decision had been taken because the IGP's performance was not satisfactory.