Training of former Khassadars, Levies personnel begins in KP

PESHAWAR: Training of former Khassadars and Levies personnel from newly merged districts has kicked off at different police lines in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after they were formally absorbed in the KP Police.

The KP police authorities had decided to train the Khassadars and levies personnel at police lines and other colleges instead of Police Training College Hangu, which is already training a large number of cops. “Around 40 personnel from Khyber and Hassankhel are being imparted training at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines currently,” Capital City Police officer Mohammad Ali Gandapur told The News. He added that more batches would be trained in the coming weeks and months.

Inspector General of Police Sanaullah Abbasi on Thursday visited Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines and Swabi to inspect the training of Khassadars and levies. The IGP on the occasion said that apart from imparting training to the personnel from merged districts, police in the erstwhile Fata have been provided 60 vehicles, weapons and other facilities to improve policing there. He said that more facilities would be provided to the cops in the former Fata to maintain law and order. “The first batch of 360 personnel from tribal different districts has started two-month training at police lines in Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Swat, Bannu, Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi and Nowshera,” assistant inspector general (AIG) Training Arif Shahbaz Wazir told The News. The training also includes a month-long attachment with the police stations.

The KP cabinet had approved the absorption of around 29,000 personnel of the Levies and Khassadar forces serving in the newly-merged districts into the KP Police a few months back. It was decided that the absorption process would be completed in two phases. In the first phase, all those cleared were absorbed while in the second stage the cases of others were settled before their absorption in KP Police. There were a number of complaints in different tribal districts as authorities were said to have inducted many officials without proper procedure.

In case of any major irregularity, these cases need to be properly probed for fair absorption process of the law enforcers from merged districts. There are also challenges of police buildings, patrolling cars and finances. Patrolling cars have been provided to many police stations. Police stations are currently set up at the sub-divisional level, with two or three police stations in each district and one in erstwhile Frontier Regions.

The process of absorption took more than the expected time as the government had ordered in April 2019 to complete the absorption process within six months. The Levies and Khassadar personnel continued to stage protests in the newly merged districts during this time to keep up the pressure on the government to order their absorption in the KP Police so that they become entitled to all the benefits being enjoyed by the cops. As many as 2,639 personnel of the Levies and Khassadar forces were formally absorbed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police in February. Those absorbed in the police force in February included 1,096 levies and 622 Khassadar personnel from Bajaur district. Besides, 307 Khassadar and 184 Levies personnel were inducted into the police in the former Frontier Region of Jandola and 239 Khassadar and 191 levies officials from Frontier Region Darazinda.

The officials made part of the KP Police include junior officers, constables and head constables. In the first stage Khyber Pàkhtunkhwa authorities had notified absorbing 4,517 Levies and Khassadars personnel in the Khyber Pàkhtunkhwa Police. They included 1,043 officials from Orakzai, 2,441 from Bajaur, 425 from Bhittani and 618 from Darra Adamkhel. Some of the cases were kept pending to further look into their cases before formal absorption in the KP Police.