BAJAUR: The first police station of Bajaur tribal district was opened in Qazafi town, the tehsil headquarters of Utmankhel, on Thursday.

Deputy inspector general of police, Malakand division, Mohammad Ijaz Khan inaugurated the police station. Besides tribal elders, senior officials of the police department and district administration and political activists attended the opening ceremony of the police station.

Speaking on the occasion, DIG Ijaz Khan said that it was the first police station formally being established in Bajaur tribal district since the extension of policing system to the tribal districts.

He termed the establishment of the police station good news for the people of the entire district to curb all sorts of criminal activities and provide safety and security to them.

He said that those who believed that policing system was against their customs and traditions had in fact either no knowledge of police system or were misleading the people about police.

The DIG said that policing system was much better than the former Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) to provide safety and security to the residents of tribal districts.

Following extension of police system, he said, only the accused himself was responsible for his crime in the tribal districts instead of his whole family and community.

Ijaz Khan said the government had planned to establish more police stations in Bajaur to improve people’s trust in the policing system. He added that a total of 10 police stations would be established in the region.

He rejected the notion that non-local people would be recruited in the police department in Bajaur and said that almost all posts in the district would be filled with the local youth.

About capacity building of police, the DIG said efforts were under way to arrange special trainings for all the personnel in Bajaur.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2020