‘Corrupt officials pocketing salaries of Khasadars in Mohmand’

Jirga says personnel were discharged without completing any formality

SHABQADAR: Some unscrupulous elements in Mohmand tribal district administration have been drawing salaries of Khasadar personnel that they had discharged from duty but did not inform the government, tribal elders said on Wednesday.

Mohmand tribal district administration has dismissed personnel of Safi and Khwazai Khasadar without fulfilling any codal formality, whereas their salaries have been regularly drawn from the exchequer and pocketed by some unscrupulous elements, a Mohmand Qaumi Jirga said.

The government should reinstate these Khasadar vacancies to the rightful people, the Mohmand Qaumi Jirga said at a press conference held at Mohmand Press Club in Ghallanai.

The Jirga leaders Zahir Shah Safi, Jangreez Khan Mohmand, and Mian Lal Badsha Safi after leading a protest demonstration in Ghallanai came to the press club to share their grievances with the media.

They accused the Mohmand administration to have dismissed their local Khasadar force officials after the restoration of peace in the area 2016. The Jirga members said that Mohmand Khasadars have rendered sacrifices in the war on terror.

More than 100 Levies and Khasadar men have laid down their lives in the line of duty during the turbulent days of war against militancy, but now when peace has been restored they have been deprived of their rights, the Jirga members said.

The community leaders added that some Khasadar force men were still performing their duties in Khawaizai for maintaining law and order but were not getting any salary. The salaries of these tribal peacekeepers were being drawn by administration officials who were not paying it to them.

The Khasadars performed security duties with their own guns and ammunition; it was an injustice to not pay their salaries, the tribal elders said.

The Mohmand Qaumi Jirga demanded regularisation of Khasadar force and merging their services into Levies and also providing incentive similar to police.

The Jirga leaders also demanded a special quota for Mohmand students in the newly constructed cadet college and model school which will open admissions from the current academic year. The Jirga demanded early construction of Mohmand Dam, a project meant for the progress and prosperity of whole Pakistan. The Jirga welcomed PM Imran visit to Mohmand and Bajaur.

Protest in Landi Kotal

Khasadar and Levies force personnel have rejected the governor’s ordinance and announced to continue their opposition and protest to the extension of Police Act to the erstwhile Fata and have gone on hunger strike at tehsil Jamrud till their demands are met.

A grand meeting of the Levies and Khasadar force was held in Peshawar Bagh-e-Naran under the chairman of the forces Syed Jalal and Jehangir Khan Afridi on Tuesday.

While addressing the gathering chairman Jalal said that government was complicating the matter by making it a complex issue with regard to ex Fata matters.

They have integrated the Khasadar and Levies forces into K-P police but denying him the perks and privileges accorded to the police.

“We were in agreement with former K-P IGP over the 22 points for merging the Levies and Khasadar force into police and he had assured us that the future of the 2.7 million forces would be safe, but the PTI government not only transferred the IG and also sacked those who had favoured us, ”Afridi remarked.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2019.