Khasadar force refuses to hand over charge to K-P police

Paramilitary force men stage protest at AC office

MOHMAND: The Khasadar force officials in Yaka Gund lower sub-division of Mohmand tribal district have made it clear to the assistant commissioner and district management that they were against deployment of police in their areas.

Khasadars will not relinquish charge of the local security and prison to K-P police, they said in a Jirga held with the Mohmand tribal district administration.

Khasadars, a tribal paramilitary security force, held a Jirga with the district administration to discuss the situation after they had chased off two K-P prison police officials who had come to take charge following provincial government orders to extend police to tribal areas.

“Khasadars and Levies jawans have rendered countless sacrifices for establishing peace in the region, the blood of our fallen comrades has not dried yet and the government wants to take the charge awy from us and hand it over to police,” a representative of the force told the gathering. “We will never allow it,” he said.

There were educated and competent youth in the tribal security forces who can very well manage the local security they said demanding the government to fulfil the promises made with the Khasadar and Levies personnel. The PTI government had assured of absorbing the tribal security forces personnel into regular police.

On Thursday, Mohmand Khasadar force refused to hand over Mohmand prisons charge to K-P prison police department, on protest the K-P prison police officials went back to Peshawar.

According to reports, two K-P prison police officials came to Mohmand lower sub-divisional head quarter Yaka Gund to takecharge of Yaka Gund Prison from Khasadar and Levies force. Upon their arrival, Khasadar force official refused to hand over charge of the Yaka Gund prison, and asked the AC to send back the prison police officials.

Later Khasadar official on duty at Yaka Gund gathered in the lawn of the Mohmand Assistant Commissioner’s office and staged protest against the prison police.

Lower Mohmand Khasadar force official Pasham Gul said: “we (Khasadar and Levies jawans) have rendered sacrifices for restoration of peace in the tribal districts and will render it in future if needed. We have the ability of securing the prison and we had proven it in past and will prove it in future too for securing it.”

He said that Khasadar and levies are well qualified and the K-P government instead of sending officials from other districts to here should promote and trained Khasadar and levies officials on the prison police. He told that Khasadar and levies force official all over erstwhile Fata are on one page regarding their rights and will never allow anyone to take our rights. Representing the Khasadars and Levies men, he said the government should give tribal paramilitary forces men status equal to police instead of sending other official to merged districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2019.