Safwat Ghayur was the nephew of Pakistan Movement activist Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, a cousin of the former Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Owais Ahmed Ghani and a cousin of former Chief of Armed forces General Abdul Waheed Kakar.
Safwat Ghayur joined the Police Service of Pakistan in 1981(9th CTP) and worked initially as an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), at various stations of Peshawar, and then as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Peshawar [REF].