Peshawar High Court Overturns Acting DSP Appointment of Constable Ayaz Khan in Mohmand District.

The Peshawar High Court set aside the appointment of Constable Ayaz Khan as acting Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Anbar, Mohmand district. The court found the appointment illegal, saying it violated the Police Act 2017. Ayaz Khan joined the Khyber‑Pakhtunkhwa Police Force as a constable on February 11, 2020, after a provincial government notification. A September 15, 2025 notification promoted him to acting DSP Anbar. The two‑member bench, made up of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Inamullah Khan, heard a writ petition presented by Advocate Fazal Shah Mohmand. Petitioners Islam Shah and three other residents challenged the appointment. Under Section 29 of the Police Act, the post of DSP is filled only by officers who meet specific eligibility criteria. Twenty‑five percent of DSP posts are filled through competitive examinations of graduate inspectors, while the remaining seventy‑five percent come from inspectors recommended by a departmental committee. Ayaz Khan does not meet these legal criteria. The court said that temporary or acting appointments of this nature have no legal justification and violate principles of merit, fairness and transparency. It emphasized that executive discretion must be regulated and subordinate to the public interest.