Khassadar, Levies personnel demand police status

BARA: The Khassadar and Levies personnel in the Khyber tribal district on Monday categorically rejected the Levies and Khassadar Act, 2019. They made the demand at a gathering in the Jirga Hall in Landikotal in Khyber district.

The district police officer (DPO), the member of provincial assembly from North Waziristan, Mir Kalam Khan Wazir and from Khyber, Mohammad Shafiq Afridi, political workers, tribal elders, members of civil society and Khassadar and Levies personnel were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the speakers, including MPAs Shafiq Afridi and Mir Kalam Khan Wazir, chairman ex-Khassadar-Levies action committee Said Jalal Wazir, Pakistan People’s Party Khyber president Malik Nadim Afridi, local elder Malik Masal Khan, Deputy Superintendent of Police Jahangir Afridi and others said that after merging Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Khassadar and Levies personnel were granted police status through the Police Act, 2017.

They recalled that IGP, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohammad Naeem Khan had given badges of the police to the Khassadar and Levies personnel.

They noted that with the passage of the recent Act by the provincial assembly the old status of Khassadar and Levies personnel was revived much to their disappointment. “We have been deceived. We will jointly retaliate against it as the Act has been passed without our consent,” said a speaker.

They said that being loyal to the state they accepted the merger and recognized the IGP and DPO as their commanding officers and now it was time to fulfil the 22 demands presented by Khassadars at the time of changing their status.

The two MPAs in their speeches vowed to raise these demands on the assembly floor. They said they would not attend the meeting of the assembly till the Khassadar and Levies personnel got the rights which they deserved.

The Khassadar and Levies officials asked the 39 policemen deployed in each of the merged tribal districts on various positions to leave within 24 hours. They threatened that they would not work under the command of their DPOs and other police high-ups until the restoration of their previous status.