FC platoons: Home dept says country’s security hinges on redeployment of troops
Says they were forced to seek judiciary’s intervention.
Sixty platoons have been assisting the Sindh police force in maintaining law and order, and 35 are currently present in Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
PESHAWAR:
Despite Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) orders and repeated requests by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government, the federal government has yet to return Frontier Constabulary (FC) platoons to K-P.
In September 2012, the provincial government filed an application at the PHC seeking its intervention after it received no response to written and verbal requests demanding FC troops be sent back.
After two case hearings, the federal governments’ representatives assured the court on November 6 that FC platoons would be relocated to K-P.
The situation worsened when on January 6, the centre asked the provincial government to send additional FC troops ahead of Dr Tahirul Qadri’s march to Islamabad. Although the request was turned down, the federal government bypassed the K-P government and ordered the FC commandant to send 4,000 additional personnel.
“We want our force back at any cost. If they say they need FC for elections then let me tell them – elections are going to be held throughout the country, not just in Sindh, Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan,” said K-P Home and Tribal Affairs Secretary Muhammad Azam Khan.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Khan said they were forced to seek the judiciary’s intervention as the federal government was not moved in the slightest by K-P’s requests.
The FC issue resurfaced after a surge in militant attacks on police check posts, on the boundary between tribal and settled areas (referred to as the ‘buffer zone’), resulted in the death of police constables and high-ranking officials.
The attack on Mattani check posts late last year, which also resulted in Superintendent Khurshid Khan’s beheading, highlights the urgency behind K-P’s request. Five security personnel were killed and 10 were injured in the same attack.
Officials of the Home and Tribal Affairs Department said the K-P government protested and demanded its troops be returned so the force could be deployed at its original location – the buffer zone.
“However, the federal government paid no heed which led the home department to file a case against them at the PHC to get their men back,” an official said.
“We do not need the FC for just K-P. In fact, the whole country needs the Frontier Constabulary to be deployed at its primary location,” said the secretary. “This is not only for Peshawar’s benefit, but by deploying FC at its original location; Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad can be kept safe from militants.”
Approximately 108 FC platoons have been assisting the army in ongoing operations against militants in the tribal belt. Sixty platoons have been assisting the Sindh police force in maintaining law and order, and 35 are currently present in Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2013.
Despite Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) orders and repeated requests by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government, the federal government has yet to return Frontier Constabulary (FC) platoons to K-P.
In September 2012, the provincial government filed an application at the PHC seeking its intervention after it received no response to written and verbal requests demanding FC troops be sent back.
After two case hearings, the federal governments’ representatives assured the court on November 6 that FC platoons would be relocated to K-P.
The situation worsened when on January 6, the centre asked the provincial government to send additional FC troops ahead of Dr Tahirul Qadri’s march to Islamabad. Although the request was turned down, the federal government bypassed the K-P government and ordered the FC commandant to send 4,000 additional personnel.
“We want our force back at any cost. If they say they need FC for elections then let me tell them – elections are going to be held throughout the country, not just in Sindh, Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan,” said K-P Home and Tribal Affairs Secretary Muhammad Azam Khan.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Khan said they were forced to seek the judiciary’s intervention as the federal government was not moved in the slightest by K-P’s requests.
The FC issue resurfaced after a surge in militant attacks on police check posts, on the boundary between tribal and settled areas (referred to as the ‘buffer zone’), resulted in the death of police constables and high-ranking officials.
The attack on Mattani check posts late last year, which also resulted in Superintendent Khurshid Khan’s beheading, highlights the urgency behind K-P’s request. Five security personnel were killed and 10 were injured in the same attack.
Officials of the Home and Tribal Affairs Department said the K-P government protested and demanded its troops be returned so the force could be deployed at its original location – the buffer zone.
“However, the federal government paid no heed which led the home department to file a case against them at the PHC to get their men back,” an official said.
“We do not need the FC for just K-P. In fact, the whole country needs the Frontier Constabulary to be deployed at its primary location,” said the secretary. “This is not only for Peshawar’s benefit, but by deploying FC at its original location; Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad can be kept safe from militants.”
Approximately 108 FC platoons have been assisting the army in ongoing operations against militants in the tribal belt. Sixty platoons have been assisting the Sindh police force in maintaining law and order, and 35 are currently present in Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2013.