Khassadars, elders join hands to resist police deployment

PESHAWAR: As the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police authorities have proposed names of officers for posting in the merged districts and 25 police stations have already been notified, the Khassadars, Levies and tribal elders have joined hands to resists police deployment in the erstwhile Fata.

The campaign against police deployment was intensified after the government notified 25 police stations in the merged districts on Friday.

They held protest demonstration against police system being extended to the merged districts and even opposed the merger of erstwhile Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Some Khassadar officials, who had announced supporting the police system during a rally in Khyber district earlier, publicly apologised for their previous stance and assured the tribal elders that they would resist the merger.

Apart from the Khassadars and some tribal elders, bureaucracy has also been opposing the extension of the KP Police Act to the merged districts. It instead wants a Levies Transition Ordinance 2019 implemented in the erstwhile Fata.

The KP government on Friday approved setting up 25 police stations after the Home Department and the KP Police moved a summary to establish one police station in every sub-division of the tribal districts and former Frontier Regions. Besides, names of officers for posting in the tribal districts have already been forwarded by the respective regional police officers.

“All the regional police officers have proposed names of officers for posting as DSPs and SHOs in the merged districts under their command. The policing will start once the government issues a notification in this regard,” an official told The News.

There were reports that the first batch of deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) has been notified for merged districts of Kohat division. The spokesman for the KP Police, however, said no such notification has been issued so far.

“The government, however, has notified 25 police stations in the erstwhile Fata a few days back,” the director public relations of the KP Police, Shahzada Kokab Farooq, told The News.

As per the decision, out of the 25 police stations in the merged districts, three will be set up in Bajaur, including one in its headquarters, Khar, and another in Nawagai sub-division. Three police stations will be established in Mohmand, including one each in Lower and Upper Mohmand and the third one in Baizai sub-division.

The summary moved to the provincial government suggested one each police station in Bara, Landikotal and Jamrud sub-divisions of the Khyber tribal

district. Lower and Upper Orakzai sub-divisions will also have one police station each.

An official said there will be three police stations in Kurram, including one each in lower, upper and central Kurram sub-divisions. Mir Ali, Miranshah and Razmak sub-divisions of North Waziristan will also get one police station each. In South Waziristan, there will be one police station each in Ladha, Sarwakai and Wana.

Separately, at least one police station each will be set up in the six former Frontier Regions, including Hassankhel, Darra Adamkhel, Wazir, Bhittani, Darazinda and Jandola.

The government had also been asked to notify South Waziristan as part of the Dera Ismail Khan police region, South Waziristan in Bannu Range, Kurram and Orakzai in Kohat

Range, Khyber in Peshawar Range, Mohmand in Mardan and Bajaur in Malakand Range of police so that the regional police officers concerned start formal supervision of policing in these districts.