PESHAWAR, Sept 22: The provincial government is planning to increase salaries of police officials, which will cost the provincial exchequer Rs30 million annually.

This was said by NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani at a farewell dinner hosted in the honour of former NWFP IGP Saeed Khan here on Saturday evening, said an official statement issued here on Sunday.

The chief minister said the MMA government was planning to raise the salary of police personnel from constable to sub- inspector in the first phase and in the 2nd phase it would increase the salary of police officers from inspectors to the senior-most official.

The raise in the salary would cost almost Rs30 million annually and that would be met out through cutting down unnecessary expenditure and by pursuing an austerity drive, he added.

He said his government would not only increase the numerical strength of the police but would also take steps to improve efficiency of the policemen. He pledged that the MMA government would end their sense of deprivation.

Mr Durrani said that the international scenario had changed the political game in the region. The NWFP was passing through a critical juncture of its history that warrants everybody to be responsive to his national obligations, he added.

A knee-jerk action would provide inimical forces a pretext to exploit the situation, he warned and added, “we should be aware of our all responsibilities.”

In his address, the chief minister termed the Frontier police force as the most efficient force in the country. It was their efficiency and hard work that had led to gradual improvement in the law and order situation in the province.

Former Inspector-General Saeed Khan enumerated his experiments covering 37 years of his stay in the police force. NWFP IGP Rifat Pasha in his address highlighted the performance of police force.