LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), July 27: Tribal elders, parliamentarians, political activists and councillors have welcomed the removal of the Frontier Constabulary from checkpoints in tribal areas.

In a joint statement, Malik Shakirullah Afridi, Malik Haji Gulab, Malik Abu Saeed, Malik Amrat and others said withdrawal of the FC personnel from checkpoints was a good decision and urged the government to keep the army and FC away from civil affairs.

The tribal elders alleged that instead of controlling smuggling the FC personnel had got involved in corruption. They accused the FC men of harassing innocent tribesmen in the name of checking.

They asserted that the tribal Khasadar force was capable of maintaining the law and order situation in tribal agencies.

Khyber Agency Senator Hamidullah Jan Afridi said that the FC’s deployment was uncalled-for and added that curbing smuggling was the job of the customs department.

The senator said that the FC should be left to its actual task of guarding the country’s frontiers.

He said that withdrawal of the FC had come as a big relief for tribesmen who had been demanding its removal for a long time.

Awami National Party president of Khyber Agency, Abdur Rahim Afridi, said that the FC’s deployment in tribal areas was without any logic and the general public was not happy with their presence at checkpoints.