DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur on Sunday said welfare of the police force was his top priority.

He stated this during a visit to the Ejaz Shaheed Police Lines here.

Dera regional police officer Abdul Ghafoor Afridi, and district police officers of Dera, Tank and South Waziristan welcomed him.

A smartly-dressed police contingent presented him guard of honour.

IGP Gandapur also visited the Yadgar-i-Shuhada and laid floral wreaths on the memorials of police martyrs.

The KP police chief also planted a sapling on the premises of the police lines in connection with the ongoing spring plantation drive.

Addressing a gathering of police officials, he said steps were being taken to equip the police with thermal eyesight, thermal imaging cameras, weapons and ammunition to effectively deal with the menace of terrorism.

He said financial assistance would be given to the police officials for the weddings of their daughters. “All police officers and Jawans, including from the merged districts, will be given equal opportunities of promotion,” he assured.

On the occasion, the officers and jawans aired their individual and collective problems, and the IGP issued orders for their resolution.

MINERS’ KILLING FLAYED: Senator Dost Mohammad Mehsud has flayed the recent killing of four coal miners in the Harnai district of Balochistan and asked the government to announce Shuhada Package for the bereaved families and ensure quality treatment of the injured workers.

Talking to reporters, he alleged a systematic campaign had been launched to kill innocent Pakhtuns, but the state was playing the role of a silent spectator.

He claimed the coal miners were killed by the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army. He expressed sorrow over the ‘silence’ of the federal and provincial governments over the heinous killing of innocent coal miners.

Senator Dost Mehsud appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take immediate notice of the killing of coal miners. He said arms licences should be issued to coal miners, so they could protect themselves against such attacks.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2023