KP Police facing challenges with low incentives

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police is facing a host of challenges in terms of terrorism for the last over two decades but successive governments did not heed the genuine demands of the force, including the hard area status, to encourage the cops.

The force is short of technology, bulletproof vehicles and vests, thermal imaging guns and scopes. Many police stations, posts and police lines don’t have proper buildings that can protect the cops from attacks.

“Sophisticated weapons were used against police in some of the recent attacks in southern districts and other parts of KP while the cops fought bravely from posts and police stations, some of which had no boundary walls,” a source told The News.

He added there were no incentives for the cops fighting in the southern districts and other volatile areas for over two decades. Instead, many cops are transferred to these towns as punishment.

“There should be incentives for the cops who are fighting terrorism. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been facing terrorism for many years but despite many requests, no government has heeded the demand of declaring KP a hard area like Balochistan,” a source added.

He added that the issue was taken up over a dozen times in the last almost 11 years but to no avail. Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed has once again taken up the issue with the government so that KP gets more senior officers as well as incentives for the cops.

After getting the hard area status, the cops receive financial incentives while the province gets more senior officers for leading units, regions and districts.Under the rules, all the officers of the Police Service of Pakistan have to serve a two-year mandatory period in hard areas for promotion.

Currently, senior officers are hesitant to perform duties in KP due to prevailing challenges with low incentives compared to other provinces. “The force is short of at least 191 officers from grade 17 to grade 20 to better head different units, regions, districts and sub-divisions. As the threat is higher and the incentives are less than other provinces, many officers don’t prefer posting in KP,” a source told The News on Wednesday.

He said the only attraction for officers of other provinces was that they get posting as district police officers much earlier than other provinces due to the lack of officers in senior grade in KP.

On many occasions, KP had several officers of grade 17 posted as DPOs which are otherwise grade-18 or 19 slots. On many occasions in the past, some officers got two-step higher positions as inspectors performed duties against the slots of SPs and sub inspectors occupied the offices of DSPs due to shortage of officers.

“Despite facing terrorism and other challenges, KP Police offers the lowest salaries in the country. The disparity increases in senior grades and that is why cops prefer posting in other provinces and units that offer more incentives with lowest threat level,” a source added.

Like the demand for the hard area status, the issue of increase in salaries of all ranks was taken up with the government recently. According to the document, with the basic pay scale (BS-7), a constable in KP gets Rs69,127 salary, compared to Rs73,000 in Punjab, Rs69,520 in Sindh, and Rs69,885 in Balochistan.

Also, a head constable (BS-9) gets Rs76,996 in KP, while in Punjab the pay is Rs80,198, in Sindh Rs76,895, and in Balochistan the salary is Rs77,211.An assistant sub-inspector (BS-11) in KP is normally paid Rs86,579, compared to Rs88,583 in Punjab and Rs88,488 in Sindh.

The salary of sub-inspectors (BS-14) in KP is around Rs107,904 while SI in Punjab gets Rs114,503, in Sindh Rs114,871, and in Balochistan SI gets Rs109,510. Similarly, inspectors (BS-16) in KP get Rs137,081 salary, compared to Rs141,680 in Punjab, Rs144,738 in Sindh, and Rs137,444 in Balochistan.

From the deputy superintendents of police and above, the disparity is substantial.In KP the salary of a grade-17 DSPs/ASP is around Rs184,867 while in Punjab they get Rs233,930, in Sindh Rs177,562 while the same officers in Balochistan get Rs453,727.

Also, superintendents of police (BS-18) in KP earn Rs232,531, compared to Rs373,487 in Punjab, Rs299,496 in Sindh and Rs607,706 in Balochistan.

In KP, salary of a senior superintendent of police or assistant inspector general (BS-19) is Rs326,529, compared to Rs495,550 in Punjab, Rs362,820 in Sindh, and Rs679,147 in Balochistan.

The deputy inspectors general (BS-20) in KP receive Rs372,669, while their counterparts get Rs579,361 in Punjab, Rs402,451 in Sindh and Rs746,172 in Balochistan. Also, additional IGs (BS-21) in KP get Rs423,863, whereas Punjab offers Rs694,507 and Balochistan Rs746,172.

For the top slot of inspector general of police (BS-22), the salary in KP is Rs778,747, compared to Rs837,953 in Punjab, Rs813,485 in Sindh, and Rs1,148,244 in Balochistan.

The shocking aspect is that the province where more cops have lost lives with their boots on gets the lowest Shaheed Package. “The Shaheed Package for a cop in Punjab is seven times higher than that of KP. The family of martyred cop is also given a decent house where they can live with respect,” a source told.

An official informed that the KP Police chief Zulfiqar Hameed has taken up the issue of Hard Area as well as significant increase in salaries and Shaheed Package with the government in the last couple of weeks.

“Besides, the issues of providing latest technology, protected buildings for posts and police stations, bullet proof vehicles, APCs, anti-drone system and anti-thermal gun technology have been taken up with the government and a proper follow up is being done by the Central Police Office,” said an official.