Levies, Khasadar forces to be merged with KP police, says Chief Minister Khan

Inspector General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr. Muhammad Naeem Khan during his first visit to Khyber Tribal district is received by the Levies and Khasadar personnel. (Social Media)

KP Police will make every effort to uphold the dignity of the people of the newly merged districts, Inspector General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr. Muhammad Naeem Khan said during his visit to Khyber tribal district. (Social Media)

Inspector General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr. Muhammad Naeem Khan receiving an antique gun from District Police Officer (DPO) Khyber Muhammad Hussain Khan. (Social Media)

Inspector General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr. Muhammad Naeem Khan with the personnel of Levies and Khasadar forces during his first visit to Jamrud, Khyber tribal district. (Social Media)

• CM’s adviser describes the decision as another achievement of PTI administration
• Says the Levies and Khasadar forces will now get the same benefits as the police

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan announced the merger of the Levies and Khasadar forces, which used to operate in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, into his province’s police force on Monday.
Addressing a news conference, Khan said that more than 28,000 personnel of both forces, who were previously working under the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), had become part of the KP police. “We have addressed all reservations of the Levies and Khasadar forces whose personnel have given countless sacrifices in the war against terrorism. None of these people will go jobless,” he said.
Ajmal Wazir, CM’s adviser on tribal districts and KP government’s spokesman, told Arab News this was yet another achievement of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government that was trying to address the grievances of the tribal people.
“This addresses the 22-point agenda of the Levies and Khasadar forces as well. Almost all the levies personnel have already been trained. However, we will give proper police training to the Khasadar forces,” Wazir informed.
He added that the merger meant that the Levies and Khasadar forces will now get the same benefits as the police. “Their salaries and allowances will increase. The retirement age will increase from 55 to 60 as well. Apart from that, they will also be entitled to pension,” he continued.
Members of the Khasadar forces had been protesting against the ambiguous plans of merging KP and FATA. Recently, a large number of their employees staged a sit-in at the iconic Bab-e-Khyber for 20 days.
Subedar Malak Mazhar Afridi, a vocal participant of the sit-in, lauded the decision of the provincial administration. However, he also raised concerns about an earlier notification by the governor of KP province that opposed the merger of the forces.
“The merger has now given us job security, recognizing our sacrifices and hardships. I hope the KP government will not go back from here and fulfill its promises of rank-wise adjustments soon.”
Habibullah Khan of Bajaur Levies also expressed concern about the seniority issues after the merger. “We are not fully satisfied with the government’s announcement today. They have not addressed all our concerns and demands. The government had agreed to appoint a Subedar Major as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and we expect it to do proper rank conversions during the merger,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wazir told Arab News there was no chance of rolling back the decision. “The notification about the merger has been issued by the chief executive of the province. There is no chance of any opposition by anyone against the merger anymore.”
District Police Officer (DPO) Khyber Tribal District Muhammad Hussain told Arab News that the Levies and Khasadar personnel were battle hardened since they had bravely fought against militant groups for over a decade. “These are brave men who have fought terrorism right at their doorstep. They only need a little specialized training to become part of the regular police. These personnel are second to none in their professionalism,” he added.