GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan Governor Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan on Friday promulgated an ordinance, declaring Levies a regular force in the region.

The force will function under the home department and render services with other law enforcement agencies on need basis.

After promulgating the ordinance, the governor said Levies force would have their own service structure, having all the privileges a government employee enjoyed. Their appointment and promotions would be as per the rules, he said, according to a press release issued by the Governor House. Ghazanfar Ali said the Levis had played a positive role in the region for over 120 years, and keeping in view their contribution, the force had been regularised with full privileges.

He said more Levies personnel would be recruited and deputed in all the districts, adding regularisation of their services had been the longstanding demand of the personnel. An official of GB home department told Dawn on condition of anonymity the Levies force was introduced in the region by the British Army in GB like other tribal areas of Pakistan before the partition. He said the Levies force existed in the then Gilgit agency under the Frontier Crimes Regulations. Levies men were appointed by political agent, and their task was to maintain law and order in the territory, he explained.

The official said in 1972 then prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto abolished FCR, and announced administrative, judicial and political reforms in the region.

The official said after introduction of reforms, the rule of Levies was ended; however the already existing Levies posts remained intact, and later the Levies became servants of district administration. They were tasked with minor works in the district administration offices like gardeners, postmen etc.

The home department official pointed out that a draft bill had been prepared by the high ups in GB government, taking output from their counterparts in Balochistan and Fata, to regularise the force.

The official said the draft bill was to be tabled in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, but it could not be placed in the GBLA due to unknown reasons. However, he said the bill would now be taken up by the legislators and would be passed into a law during the three-month period of the ordinance. An official of GB law department told Dawn on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to media that GB Levies had been made a regular force.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2017