The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet has approved the Revised Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Act 2026, but the proposed legislation does not have the status of law yet and must pass through the remaining constitutional process.
The approval was given during the 59th meeting of the provincial cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi on Wednesday. The revised draft incorporates amendments aimed at addressing reservations raised by cabinet members over different provisions of the proposed legislation.
The proposed legislation could also face judicial scrutiny. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has itself referred to an earlier Peshawar High Court ruling concerning amendments related to the posting and transfer of Regional Police Officers and District Police Officers. The High Court had struck down those amendments and restored the relevant powers to the Inspector General of Police. Now questions have been raised over the legal status of the proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Act 2026.
According to legal experts, the draft currently has no formal legal status or enforceability. It must undergo the required constitutional and legislative procedures before it can become law. Following the cabinet’s approval, the draft must be presented to and passed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. It would then be sent to the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for assent. Under the constitutional procedure, the Governor has 15 days to give assent or return the bill for reconsideration, after which a further 10-day period may apply under the prescribed procedure. The Act can only become legally enforceable after completion of the required legislative and assent process, followed by its formal promulgation and notification.
The proposed law would introduce significant changes to the existing framework governing the provincial police, including the appointment and transfer of senior officers and the role of the provincial government in police policymaking.
Under the proposed mechanism, the federal government would provide three names for appointment as Inspector General of Police, from which the provincial government would select one. The draft also proposes greater provincial government involvement in senior police postings and transfers.
However, the cabinet’s approval is only an administrative step. The draft will have to be presented before the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and, if passed, sent to the Governor for assent. Under Article 116 of the Constitution, a bill passed by a Provincial Assembly is presented to the Governor, who has 10 days to either give assent or return a non-money bill for reconsideration. If the Assembly passes the bill again, the Governor is required to give assent within 10 days, failing which assent is deemed to have been given.
The proposed legislation could also face judicial scrutiny. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has itself referred to an earlier Peshawar High Court ruling concerning amendments related to the posting and transfer of Regional Police Officers and District Police Officers. The High Court had struck down those amendments and restored the relevant powers to the Inspector General of Police.
Any constitutional petition challenging the new legislation could therefore place the proposed changes under judicial examination, particularly where they overlap with questions already considered by the Peshawar High Court.
The key issue is consequently not simply whether the cabinet has approved the draft, but whether the proposed provisions survive the legislative process and any subsequent constitutional or judicial challenge.
PHC declares CM’s approval for posting of police officers unconditional
It is worth mentioning here that the Peshawar High Court had declared unconstitutional and void the provincial police law’s changes made to seek the chief minister’s approval for posting senior police officers (BPS-18 and above) and deprive the provincial police officer (PPO) of the authority to appoint field officers.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice SM Attique Shah and Justice Mohammad Ijaz Khan struck down two relevant provisions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police (Amendment) Act, 2024, and ordered restoration of three deleted provisions of the original KP Police Act, 2017, empowering the posting of high-ranking police officers by the PPO.
“These interventions unconstitutionally dismantled the operational autonomy indispensable to a professional police service and, in effect, impermissibly repositioned the police as an instrument of political expediency rather than a servant of the law,” it declared.
KP Governor strongly rejects Cabinet’s proposed Police Act amendments
On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has strongly criticised the amendments to the Police Act proposed by the provincial cabinet, declaring them unconstitutional and objecting to measures such as changes to the procedure for appointing the Inspector General of Police.
Speaking to the media, Kundi said the Police Act approved by the provincial cabinet was inconsistent with constitutional requirements. He said that once the bill is presented to him for assent, he will review its provisions in detail and raise objections if he finds any unconstitutional clauses.
The governor also noted that the PTI has consistently advocated for a politically neutral police force, but said the proposed amendments appeared to indicate an attempt to bring the police under greater government control.