Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu makes ex-IPS officer Mohammad Mustafa his strategic advisor

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday appointed former IPS officer Mohammad Mustafa as his principal strategic advisor. The development followed days after Mustafa, the husband of Punjab Cabinet Minister Razia Sultana, had turned down Sidhu's offer to appoint him as one of his four advisors.

"Mohd Mustafa is hereby appointed as the principal strategic advisor to the PPCC president, the undersigned, Navjot Singh Sidhu with immediate effect," a statement issued by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee said.

"He would act as a PCC coordinator with the AICC on issues pertaining to his domain and any other matters that the president may deem fit," it added. "Love to be associated with Razia Ji and Mustafa sahib," Sidhu said in a tweet.

Besides Mustafa, Sidhu on August 11 had appointed three advisors -- Lok Sabha MP Amar Singh,



former registrar of Faridkot-based Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Pyare Lal Garg, and former government teacher Malvinder Singh Mali.

But Mustafa had refused to take up the appointment. After becoming the PPCC chief, Sidhu had reached out to several leaders and visited their residences, including Mustafa's. Mustafa along with another IPS officer Siddharth Chattopadhyaya had challenged IPS officer Dinkar Gupta's appointment as Punjab police chief by the Amarinder Singh government in 2019.

The state government had appointed Gupta as the Punjab DGP, suppressing the seniority of other IPS officers, including Mustafa. Sidhu has already appointed Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh as PPCC general secretary (organisation).

The cricketer-turned-politician had on Wednesday also appointed two media advisors -- Jagtar Singh Sidhu and Surinder Dalla.