PESHAWAR, Dec 17: NWFP IGP Muhammad Raffat Pasha has said that 1,500 police constables would be recruited in the province next month purely on merit. Advertisements would soon be placed in newspapers for the purpose.

He directed the police high-ups to give preference to sons of police employees in the recruitment.

He said police cannot achieve the desired results against criminals without active support and cooperation of people.

He directed police officers and jawans to join hands with the general public for controlling crime.

He was addressing a ‘Police Darbar’ in Mardan on Saturday, which was attended by officers and jawans of Swabi, Mardan, Nowshera and Charsadda districts.

The IGP pointed out that people had great expectations that police would change the traditional ‘thana’ culture but so far their hopes had not materialized in full. Police must do more for achieving the desired results, he said.

He said that 50 per cent problems of the general public could be resolved if police behaved with them in a decent manner.

Officers were directed to give due respect and honour to elected representatives and solve their genuine complaints promptly.

The IGP said that the standard of policing in the NFWP was far better in every respect from other provinces. It was mainly due to the hard work of the force jawans, public cooperation and peculiar culture and tradition of the province.

Police have been directed to take stern action against vulgarity and obscenity as per the policy of the provincial government, he said.

He said the government had taken steps for the welfare of police and the “Shaheed Package” announced by it last year had no parallel in the country. The package envisaged a 300-canal colony scheme for the Shuhada family in the Regi Lalma Township.

He said that under the Shaheed package, 27 sons of the Shuhada would be directly enlisted as ASI within a few months.

He said that during the last two and a half years, no major incident of bomb blast or sectarian violence had taken place.

The culprits involved in firing rocket launchers on Peshawar and Bannu had been arrested, he added.

He announced free treatment for sub-inspectors and constables who had suffered injuries during encounters with criminals. —APP