Surplus: AJK government sacks 104 policemen

IG police issues orders claiming ERRA refused to pay salaries of cops

MUZAFFARABAD: In an unprecedented move, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Tuesday fired 104 policemen who were guarding reconstruction and rehabilitation projects in the earthquake-hit areas of
the region, sources told The Express Tribune.

According to sources, AJK Inspector General of Police (IGP) Bashir Memon had issued the order to dismiss the 104 policemen who were deployed at the Muzaffarabad City Development Project (MCDP), Bagh City Development Project (BCDP) and the Rawalakot City Development Project (RCDP).

These officers had been hired by the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) in 2007 to guard the reconstruction and rehabilitation projects being built by the authority in the region. They had been trained intensively for around 14 months on medium and small arms before being deployed in three districts of AJK, including some near sensitive installations.

“The ERRA told us that 80 per cent of their work has been completed in the earthquake-hit areas,” IGP Memon explained the move to The Express Tribune, confirming that the officers had been sacked.

He added that since the ERRA’s work in the region had reduced to just 20 per cent, the authority had decided that these officials were surplus to their requirements.



“Keeping their requirements in view, ERRA refused to pay 104 out of 179 policemen,” the top cop said.

“The salaries of these cops were being paid by the ERRA, not the government of AJK,” IGP Memon said matter-of-factly.

Opposition decries sackings

As news of the sackings spread, members of the opposition parties condemned the act, accusing the government of failing to accommodate the officers.

Younas Mir, a member of the Kashmir Council and leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), condemned the sacking.

“The PPP provided jobs to the people, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has been working to sack them. This is unacceptable to our party,” Mir said.

He expressed concern that these police officials had information about sensitive government installations in the region owing to their deployments and contended that their state of joblessness could be counterproductive for the state and
its security.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Khawaja Farooq said that his party would raise the issue at all available forums and fight to restore services of these cops.

“I don’t know what the PML-N wants to get out of such decisions,” Farooq said.

He expressed fear that by rendering highly trained cops jobless may push them to turn to crime and join gangs to eke out a living.

“Even before completing 100 days in office, such an anti-public decision shows the real face of the PML-N government in AJK,” PTI secretary general lamented.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2016.