close
Friday March 29, 2024

Bajaur cops remove badges to protest ‘humiliation’

By Javed Aziz Khan
May 31, 2021

PESHAWAR: The police personnel from Bajaur district on Sunday removed badges and announced to wear old uniform of Levies and Khasadar force to protest the alleged humiliation of their colleagues in other districts.

The protest started after the policemen from Bajaur clashed with the cops of Khazana Police Station in Peshawar. The Bajaur cops were on duty as gunmen with MPA Ajmal Khan when they were stopped and allegedly insulted.

“Our colleagues are being humiliated despite the fact that we are part of the KP police now. This is why we have decided to wear old uniform of Levies and Khassadar force as the police in other districts are not going to own us,” one of the cops from Bajaur said. They announced not to wear police uniform until they were owned and respected.

District Police Officer Bajaur Shahzada Kokab Farooq held meetings with the officials to convince them to end the protest. The matter was not resolved till late Sunday.

The cops complained this was not the first time that police personnel of Bajaur and other merged districts were humiliated by the policemen in settled districts.

In the recent incident on Saturday, the cops from the Khazana Police Station intercepted a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from Bajaur Ajmal Khan who was escorted by armed men.

The armed men introduced themselves and police personnel from Bajaur but they were asked to provide their documents.

The guards of the MPA and the cops of the Khazana Police Station exchanged harsh words and later got involved in fist-fight. The MPA was also reportedly wounded in the clash after more cops headed by the station house officer arrived.

The MPA took up the matter with the provincial government after which the local MPAs and Adviser to Chief Minister Kamran Bangash arrived at the spot.

Later, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan himself paid a visit to the Khazana Police Station and expressed his anger over a number of issues. The MPs also took up the matter with the top police officials after which the station house officer Khazana was suspended and an inquiry ordered.

On the other hand, the junior officers of the Peshawar and KP police have launched a campaign on social media against the removal of the SHO, saying the force had been politicised.

They said the police have been ordered to go after the so-called VIPs who are brandishing weapons in public and spreading terror.

They said the cops from Khazana Police Station were performing duty as per orders but the SHO was made a scapegoat after seniors succumbed to pressure.

They said this will also demoralise the force and will affect actions against land mafia and so-called VIPs roaming with several gunmen for show-off. The Peshawar Police have arrested at least 81 people for spreading terror in the society through armed guards in escort cars and recovered a huge quantity of arms from them. The campaign is launched after complaints that a number of new rich as well as some criminal elements roam in luxury SUVs with several gunmen in escort cars for show-off.

The cops during the drive were, however, directed to check if someone was entitled and carried authorized guards for safety after receiving life threats.

They were also directed to focus on those who roamed in public to spread terror in the society and were escorted by an unusual number of gunmen, some of them impersonating as cops in black clothes.