Zulfiqar Cheema was on Wednesday appointed the Inspector General of Sindh Police (IGP) in place of Shahid Nadeem Baloch.
The decision came following the special cabinet session held to deliberate on the law and order situation in Karachi.
Prior to his appointment, Cheema had been serving as the IG of the National Highway and Motorway Police.
Cheema also served as the Immigration and Passport director general (DG) and was credited with clearing the backlog of passports within a month.
During his tenure as Gujranwala RPO, Cheema arrested several key criminals and significantly decreased the crime rate.
Meanwhile, the appointment has been criticised by the PPP, with Provincial Information Minister Sharjeel Memon saying the official had been imposed on Sindh.
“Nawaz Sharif has started politics of 1990s. We consider this as the beginning of governor’s rule in the province,” he said.