Rankers have highest share in posting as DPOs

PESHAWAR: The policemen promoted from the lower ranks are posted as district police officers (DPOs) in 11 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the highest share in senior level positions during the last many years.

There are at least 11 districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where police officers posted as DPOs had been recruited as assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs). The PSPs share the same number while officers recruited as deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) by the Provincial Civil Service head three districts in the province.

There was a time when 20 out of the 24 DPOs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were from the PSP cadre while the remaining belonged to the PCS. Later, the officers recruited through PCS got the highest share in posting of DPOs for many years. Hardly an officer or two from the ranks usually got posting as DPO in any district of the province in the last almost 20 years.

The officers promoted from the lower ranks used to get hardly a couple of postings as DPOs and that too in the remote small towns. Only a few could get promotion to grade-18 as majority of them retired from service after serving for many years in grade-17 in the absence of a proper service structure for the rankers.

A source said currently the rankers have got the highest number of postings as DPOs. He said they are posted as DPOs in Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Buner and Shangla in Malakand region, Battagram, Lower Kohistan, Upper Kohistan and Torghar in Hazara region, and Tank, Hangu and Dera Ismail Khan in the southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The major districts, however, are still being headed by officers from the PSP. The PSPs are currently posted as DPOs in Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Swat, Chitral, Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Kohat, Bannu and Lakki Marwat.

If the capital city police officer (CCPO) is included in the list, the number of PSPs heading districts increases to 12. However, the post of the CCPO is a grade-20 position and is assisted by senior superintendents of police operations, investigation and coordination. The capital city has one SSP each from PSP, PCS and ranks.

Out of the four SPs of different circles in the capital city, three are from the ranks while the fourth one is headed by a ranker as additional charge. The SPs of the headquarters and security are also from the ranks.

Currently, only Charsadda and Karak have PCS officers as DPOs. The senior superintendent of police operations Peshawar too is an officer of the PCS group. All these three officers, however, have been encadred into the PSP on their promotion to grade-18. Officers from the ranks are also encadered into PSP after their promotion to grade-18.