Ex-Levies, Khassadars oppose posting of cops from other districts

PESHAWAR: The former Levies and Khassadars from the erstwhile tribal areas have once again opposed the transfer of police officers from the settled districts, saying only the locals should be posted on senior and junior positions as per the agreement.

The ex-Levies and Khassadars, who are now part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, warned of staging protests in the first week of March if the officers from other districts remained posted in the newly merged districts and the promises made with them were not honoured.

They have formed a body that highlights the local issues quite often and, unlike other parts of the country, even stages protests against the police bosses.

“As per the agreement, except the district police officer (DPO), all the cops including SP Investigation, DSPs and SHOs will be from the tribal districts. We have asked the police chief of the province and regional and district heads to honour the commitments made with thousands of former Levies men and Khassadars,” said Said Jalal Wazir, the chairman of the Ex-Levies and Khassadars Alliance while speaking at a press conference.

Other office-bearers of the alliance were also present on the occasion.

The body opposed the transfer of two officers Aqil Hussain and Ibad Wazir to North Waziristan from Peshawar and said they would not accept the posting of these cops in their district.

There have been a number of issues that the government had to face after the merger of the Fata with KP in May 2018. On a number of occasions, the Levies and Khassadars even clashed with the cops from other districts when they arrived for official duty.

However, many issues have been settled and the Levies and Khassadar forces have been absorbed into the KP Police. Thousands of them have undergone a few weeks training given to them by the cops and other security personnel. The rest are undergoing the basic training of police at different districts.

Except the DPOs, who are senior cops posted from the regular police of KP to head the force in all the seven tribal districts, hardly a few other officers brought from the settled areas are serving in the newly merged districts. Also, a few officers from the tribal districts are posted in the settled areas of KP.

A number of police stations have already been set up in the merged districts. The Counter Terrorism Department and other wings of the police force are also being extended to the newly merged districts.