K-P police, Frontier Constabulary remember fallen comrades

Wreaths laid on tombs and monuments as officers donate blood

PESHAWAR/SHABQADAR: Like the rest of the country, the police force across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Sunday observed Youm-e-Shuhada for fallen comrades.

Emotionally stirring events relating to the Police Martyrs’ Day were held at Police Lines in all districts, including recitations of the Holy Quran, while the main function to mark the day was held at the Malik Saad Police Lines in Peshawar where families of the martyred police officers were awarded presents.

Officers also laid floral wreaths at the tombs and graves of their fallen comrades and offered prayers.

Officers also donated blood at specially set-up camps across the province.

At the Police Headquarters in Peshawar, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Karim Khan donated blood, terming the donation a good deed which needs to be performed regularly.

CCPO Khan promised that children of fallen police officers will be admitted to the Police Public School in Peshawar. He also appreciated the provincial government for revising upwards the compensation package for senior police officers in the province.

Meanwhile, a special, smartly-dressed contingent of the police force turned out at the tomb of former FC commandant Safwat Ghayur — on whose death anniversary Youm-e-Shuhada is observed — in the Police Lines. Cantt SP Muhammad Ashfaq paid his respects at the tomb of Rural SP Tahir Khan Dawar, Rural SP Shaukat Khan paid tribute to ASI Ajmeer Khan and Saddar SP Sahibzada Sajjad paid tribute to the ASI Qamar Alam by laying floral wreaths on their graves.

Sacrifices of comrades enabled peace

The Frontier Constabulary (FC) observed Youm-E-Shuhada at the FC Training Centre in Shabqadar where FC Commandant Muazzam Ansari addressed a large gathering comprising FC officials and families of martyred personnel.

Ansari said that he currently commands a 30,000 strong force. He promised that they were soldiers of Pakistan with the national flag stitched onto their uniforms and that they will all gladly lay down their lives to protect the homeland.

He added that that day is observed as a memorandum of the fateful day in 2010 when FC commandant Ghayur was martyred in a suicide bomb attack. Ansari added that today they all sleep peacefully because of the sacrifices rendered by the FC, the police, the armed forces, the Khasadar and the Levies force. So far, he said that as many as 361 FC personal, including Ghayur, have laid down their lives in the line of duty.

Earlier, Ansari laid a floral wreath on a monument constructed in the training centre. He also handed out gifts among the relatives of the martyred FC personnel. Local PTI MNA Malak Anwar Taj paid tribute to martyred FC personnel, adding that the security forces were fighting to secure the borders. But it was up to the civilians to secure the ideological boundary of the state of Pakistan.

FC Training Centre Shabqadar Abdul Nawaz Khatak told The Express Tribune that the centre is the main training centre for the force in the province where more than 900 FC recruits are trained annually.

On May 12, 2011, the centre was attacked by two suicide bomber where 122 personnel, including 78 fresh recruits and 44 civilians were martyred, he recalled.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2019.