PESHAWAR: President Asif Ali Zardari has conferred Sitara-i-Shujaat on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan for his efforts in eliminating hardcore militants and their networks.

The award was conferred on Mr Khan at Aiwan-i-Sadr on the occasion of Pakistan Day on Saturday.

In 2007, when militancy was at its peak and the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Swat (TTS) had seized control of the valley and imposed a de-facto government, Mr Khan was posted as district police officer.

Militants had imposed a de-facto government where public executions, floggings, target killings, improvised explosive devices and rocket attacks were commonplace – even the DPO’s office would come under attack on regular basis, but Mr Khan remained on ground with a handful of men till the military Operation Rah-i-Rast was launched in Nov 2007.

Mr Khan helped carry out military operations to clear the area despite serious threats to his life and was pulled out of Swat in December 2007. With over three million people internally displaced (IDPs) from Malakand region in the aftermath of military operation, it was imperative to rehabilitate the citizens and sustain peace in the area.

In 2011, Mr Khan was posted as Regional Police Officer in restive Malakand division where he along with district administration, sister agencies and Pakistan Army rehabilitated the IDPs and made strenuous efforts to bring back normalcy to the region.

During this period as RPO Malakand, around 212 Intelligence-Based Operations (IBOs) were conducted and 261 militants were arrested or neutralised.

With his effective counterinsurgency strategy, Mr Khan ensured that the strongholds of militants were cleared and youth did not join the ranks of militants. He served as RPO Malakand till March 2013.

Keeping in mind his past track record in Malakand region, Mr Khan was again assigned the challenging role of RPO Malakand in July 2016 where he ensured that police take the lead role as premier law enforcement agency in the region.

In his second stint as RPO, about 431 IBOs were conducted and as a consequence 142 militants were either neutralised or arrested.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2024