Provinces want brave cops acknowledged

PESHAWAR: The provinces are mulling including names of 39 policemen recommended for top gallantry medals in 2014 along with the fresh list to be forwarded to the President of Pakistan for conferring awards on Pakistan Day, a source said on Monday.
Last year, no cop from across the country was awarded Quaid-e-Azam Police Medal (QPM) and Pakistan Police Medal (PPM) because the federal government could not forward the list to the president after having received the names from the provinces and civil armed forces, said the source.
Among the 39 cops who could not get the medals even after these were finalized by the Interior Ministry committees last year, 24 were from the volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The remaining five were from Balochistan, four from Gilgit-Baltistan, three from Punjab and one each from Sindh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan Railways Police. “The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police authorities are considering launching own awards to acknowledge the bravery of policemen at the provincial level so that there is no need to send the names to the federal government,” said the source.
However, those who were not awarded last year wanted the government to include the names of the 39 cops in the fresh list forwarded for PPM and QPM. “Those recommended last year would be discouraged if they were not awarded even when their respective provinces and forces recommended their names for performing extraordinarily,” said a source.
The President after recommendation by the Interior Ministry through Prime Minister confers the PPM and QPM to the cops who perform extraordinarily all over the country.The names of 39 cops from across the country were finalised for the PPM and QPM by the two committees in the Interior Ministry from the lists sent by the provinces in 2014. However, the final list could not be forwarded to the Prime Minister who then sends it to the President.
“In 2012, 45 policemen were awarded QPM and PPM by the government while another 54 were conferred the gallantry medals in 2013 for displaying bravery while carrying out police operations,” the source added.
Apart from the provinces, AJK and Railways Police every year recommend the names of officers and jawans who performed bravely in actions against the terrorists and criminals.“The cops from the rank of additional inspector general to constables have sacrificed their lives for the cause of the country in the war on terrorism. They died young leaving behind widows and orphans,” said a senior cop while criticising the negligence on part of those who failed to forward the names of the policemen for top medals.