PESHAWAR: The Treasury and opposition benches in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday took exception to the kidnapping and subsequent killing of some policemen at the hands of the militants in the Elam Mountain area in Buner district and demanded inquiry into the tragic incident. They also demanded punishment to the police officers who showed negligence with regard to the incident that occurred a few days back.In response to a question raised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Member Provincial Assembly from Buner district, Mufti Fazl Ghafoor, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi ordered the suspension of Buner’s district police officer (DPO) and deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of Daggar till the completion of inquiry into the matter. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser in his ruling stated that the inquiry report must be completed within a week and the Speaker’s office should be informed in this regard.Mufti Fazl Ghafoor said that the Elam Mountain bordering Swat district has been a permanent hideout of militants and criminals for years. He said the security forces had claimed to have cleared the area of militants. The legislator added that a few days back the militants kidnapped 17 policemen and later killed three of them, including a sub-inspector.“Unfortunately, the bodies of the slain cops and an injured officer remained in the far-flungmountains for about 29 hours, but the DPO made no arrangements to bring back the bodies,” he said. He added that the Elam Mountain has been a “no-go area” for years. He demanded that the militancy-stricken areas in Buner should be provided share in the special fund meant for the development and rehabilitation of militancy-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Minister for Zakat, Ushr and Religious Affairs Habibur Rehman, who also belongs to Buner district and is affiliated to the Jamaat-i-Islami, held the local police officers responsible for the delay in bringing back the bodies of the cops. He said the bodies of the slain cops along with the injured SHO were airlifted in military helicopters when the local people formed teams to reach the place and retrieve the bodies.“If I were a constable, I would have revolted against the police officers for their pathetic approach towards the low-ranked cops,” he said. He demanded dismissal of the DPO and the DSP. During the question-hour, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was informed that the government has punished about 567 policemen, including officers, after departmental inquiry conducted against the corrupt and inefficient police officials in the department.
