PESHAWAR: The state and frontier regions (Safron) ministry has asked the interior ministry to send 20 platoons of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) to Bannu to maintain law and order due to a large influx of internally displaced persons from North Waziristan.

A relevant official told Dawn on Friday that the district administration recently requested Safron minister Abdul Qadir Baloch for the dispatch of the FC personnel to Bannu adjacent to the troubled North Waziristan.

The minister had visited Bannu on July 8 to examine arrangements for IDPs and it was during that visit that the district administration made the said request.

Zarb-i-Azb: Registration of nearly a million IDPs completed

“The existing police force in the district is inadequate keeping in view the presence of IDPs and therefore, the interior ministry should deploy at least 20 platoons of FC to cope with the security situation,” stated a letter sent to the interior ministry lately.

The letter stated 852,495 IDPs had been registered in Bannu and that foolproof security arrangements were necessary to facilitate disbursement of cash and distribution of relief goods among them.

Safron ministry asks interior ministry for deployment

“Whatever resources in hand may kindly be made available to Bannu districts police in the best national interest,” it stated.

The officials said Bannu was a sensitive district first due to its location and second due to arrival of IDPs in large numbers.

They said the provincial government recently issued verbal directives to the Bannu administration to recruit 500 retired personnel but had yet to provide money for it.

The officials said only 13 retired personnel had applied for the opportunities in question.

According to them, deployment of two FC platoons comprising 40 personnel in Bannu was approved recently and that 20 of them are current under training in Hangu.

A senior police officer said the federal and provincial government were well aware of the situation but they had so far done nothing for it.

He said the total strength of Bannu police was around 2,500, while population of the district had exceeded the two million mark after the arrival of around one million IDPs from North Waziristan in the wake of the Zarb-i-Azb military offensive against militants.

“The crime rate is already very high in Bannu, so the burden on police has further increased after the arrival of IDPs,” he said, adding that the police needed vehicles, financial resources and additional manpower to cope with the situation.

Another official said the police were overburdened due to deployment for the protection of VIPs, distribution points and health facilities in the district.

He said the federal ministers, chief ministers, politicians and staff of the United Nation agencies regularly visited the district for distribution of relief goods to IDPs making the police’s duty more difficult.

The official said 10 food distribution points had been established in the district, while 35 additional points were being opened for giving out cash assistance to IDPs.

He said three to five police constables would be deployed at the cash distribution points.

“In addition, more than 60 police personnel have been deployed for the security of military doctors and paramedics,” he said.

The official said the district administration had to deploy six to seven mobile units for the protection of VIPs on daily basis.

He said the administration had requested the provincial government for vehicles and other resources to enhance the police’s movement in the district but the response was awaited.

Published in Dawn, July 19th , 2014