KHYBER: Scores of suspended and retired Khasadar and Levies personnel demanded here on Tuesday their reinstatement.

Addressing a press conference at Bara Press Club, Arbab Khan Afridi, chairman of the retired and suspended personnel action committee, said that Chief Minister Mahmood Khan during a visit to Bara promised their reinstatement but the promise was not fulfilled.

He said that more than 700 Khasadar and Levies personnel, all hailing from Bara, had resigned en bloc in 2009 after they were threatened with dire consequences by Lashkar-i-Islam, the then Bara based proscribed organisation.

He said that the then political administration of erstwhile Khyber Agency had reinstated about 641 personnel at different intervals on the intervention and assurances of local tribal elders while 71 of them were still awaiting reinstatement.

Mr Afridi said that he along with his suspended colleagues knocked at every door but no one was ready to listen to them.

He said that provincial home department refused to entertain their request for reinstatement.

He said that nobody was willing to share with them the actual reason as to why they were not considered for re-induction in the Khyber police force.

He said that they would stage a series of protest demonstrations if their demands were not fulfilled.

Meanwhile, DPO Mohammad Iqbal have restored a number of police checkposts on important roads after a surge in incidents of targeted killing in different parts of Khyber, particularly in Jamrud tehsil.

Through a notification, he also reinstated some police officials, who were recently suspended on disciplinary grounds.

The notification said that security was enhanced on major roads. Some of the joint checkposts with FC were also revived and local police were posted at those checkpoints.

The DPO, however, rejected that recent targeted killing incidents were result of terrorism. He said that except for one police constable, the rest of the people were targeted due to personal enmities.

He said that security situation would improve in the coming days by taking additional security measures.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2020