Daily Times

A legislative body of the Lower Hous, on Wednesday, recommended the government to release the salaries of the Khasadar force of South Waziristan District and North Waziristan District on an immediate basis.

During a meeting of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), held in the Ministry of SAFRON, Islamabad, under the chairmanship of a member of NA, Sajid Khan, the panel also suggested to amicably resolve the opening of their bank accounts for computerisation of their salaries.

Home Department & Tribal Affairs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Special Secretary informed the committee that the chief minister had already announced the merger of Khasadar and Levies forces in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police. Their service rules would be framed under the provisions given in the ordinances promulgated by the Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he added.

During the meeting, it was also pointed out that in some merged districts of erstwhile FATA, the subedar majors are appointed as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSPs) with no regard to their shortcomings in fulfilling the required criteria.

Whereupon the committee recommended inviting Inspector-General (IG)of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police and Secretary Home Department & Tribal Affairs in the next meeting for a briefing on the future status as well as the restructuring of the Khasadar and Levies forces after absorption in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police.

Members of the panel also discussed the issue of salaries of Khasadar force of South Waziristan District and North Waziristan District, which had been suspended by the concerned quarters for the last eight months.

The non-payment of salaries had become a grave concern for the public.

The honourable members from former FATA raised their serious reservations on consultation with senators by the deputy commissioners regarding the development schemes of merged Districts/Sub-Divisions.

They expressed that it was only the right and mandate of the elected MNAs to propose development schemes in their constituencies.

In this regard, the committee strongly recommended that the letter No.SO.III/CMS/KPK/4-1/2018/P&D/21992-93 dated December 6, 2018, issued by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regarding site identification of new schemes of merged areas for ADP 2018-19 may be restored and the letter No.SO.III/CMS/KPK/4-1/2018/P&D/1498-100 dated February 8, 2019, may be withdrawn with immediate effect.

It was also recommended that the committee would hold meetings with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM and concerned secretaries at the CM Secretariat, Peshawar, to get appraised on the steps being taken to mainstream erstwhile FATA.

The meeting was attended by MNAs Saleh Muhammad; Gul Dad Khan; Gul Zafar Khan; Abdul Shakoor Shad; Syed IftikharUl Hassan; Muhammad Afzal Khokhar; Sajid Hussian Turi; Muhammad Jamal Ud Din and Ali Wazir as well as officers of the ministry and its attached departments.