Ashrafuddin Pirzada
PESHAWAR: Praising the tribal journalists’ role in peace maintenance and development in merged tribal districts, the Inspector General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur has said that the state would not ignore the life sacrifices of 14 tribal journalists who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Inspector General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police, Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur, made the following statement while addressing a delegation of the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ) at his office in Peshawar:
“We are aware of the sensitivities and challenges faced by journalists in the merged districts. Journalists play a key role in establishing a healthy society.”
Please note that I have made a minor correction to the name “Akhtar Hayat Gandaour” as “Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur” based on the information provided.
“I know the threats and risks the journalists counter in merged tribal districts. Police and other sister departments can not ignore the journalists’ importance in maintaining peace and portraying the soft image of Pakistan”, said IG Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur. Adding that not only in the past but still the ex-Fata journalists were performing a challenging job in their respective districts.
Gandapur said their moral and social support would be with the journalists to cope with all kinds of social evils. He said they were gradually increasing the number of police stations in merged districts so that they could keep watch on the whole area. He said they want all displaced people could return to their respective areas in ex-Fata to bring normalcy and initiate developmental projects for them.
On the question of this correspondent, IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that he knew that a large number of well-educated persons were performing jobs in tribal police converted from Khasadar and levies forces. He said they would give priority and relaxation to educated police servicemen in the promotion process to get their high ranks in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police department.
“The policemen hailing from merged districts are full of talent, they are outstanding in courage, bravery and we should appreciate their sacrifices in the line of duty”, IG praised.
Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur said when he assumed charge as IG-KP he chalked out the service structure mechanism for the police of merged districts executing gradually.
He said the Shaheed(martyred)package for police in merged districts was initiated and they have so far handed over compensations to several police martyrs’ families in erstwhile Fata.
Regarding the closing of several police checkposts in merged districts, the chief of police said they were reconsidering reinstating some of the checkposts due to security reasons, especially in district Khyber.
He said Khasadars-converted police in merged districts had completed the initial and advanced training in the past two years. He said they were focusing on the traffic management issues, especially in district Khyber to control the road accidents and provide a smooth traffic flow on the Peshawar-Torkham road.
Akhtar Hayat Khan said they were establishing a modern type of police station in Tirah Valley where they could a vigilant eye over social evils.
Tribal Union of Journalists caretaker chairman Qazi Fazlullah Shinwari and spokesperson Ashrafuddin Pirzada discussed various problems being faced by tribal journalists with the inspector general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police. They told the police chief to provide at least two police to each press club in merged districts.
Qazi Fazlullah also demanded that the IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa withdraw the cases allegedly lodged against journalists in merged districts. He said police should allocate free education for the children of martyred journalists in police-run schools and colleges.
