DERA GHAZI KHAN: Revamp of the Border Military Police (BMP) and Baloch Levy is need of the hour to protect provincial boundaries.

The establishment of the BMP, predominantly comprising local residents, and the formation of the Baloch Levy, which included residents from the de-excluded areas of the trans-Indus districts and the Soon Skaser valley (with recruitment criteria emphasizing tall stature), played a crucial role in maintaining authority and preventing intrusions into Punjab from the trans-Indus regions.

The government should increase and restore honouraium for the tribes who guard the passes of Suleiman Range to stop the unwanted.

Since 1849, Dera Ghazi Khan has been the largest district in Punjab until 1982 when a new district was carved out of it. This division also led to the Border Military Police being divided between Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan. However, while the Baloch Levy remaining undivided, its sanctioned strength for Rajanpur couldn’t be fully recruited.

The Baluch Levy, a specialized paramilitary force, has a long-standing history of protecting provincial boundaries, particularly in the border areas of the de-excluded districts.

It has played a significant role in restoring law and order during communal riots in Dera Ghazi Khan division in the past. There is a pressing need to overhaul both the Border Military Police and the Baloch Levy to meet contemporary challenges by recruiting qualified youth equipped with modern combat weapons.

Dera Commissioner Dr.Nasir Mehmood says for the last 125 years, the Border Military Police and Baloch Levy, despite their shortcomings, boast 125 years of success in keeping the 12,000 sq km area of steep and rugged, hard-to-reach mountains of Koh Suleiman free from religious militancy and anti-state Baloch militancy.

He said this success had been achieved by manning hard-to-reach areas in a stretch of 400 kms by the Border Military Police and Baloch Levy with the essence of community policing as well as combating, ensuring that no miscreants from any other area are allowed to settle in the tribes’ boundaries.

The de-excluded area has actually been mainstreamed since 1993 with the extension of CPC, CrPC, and PPC with the jurisdiction of ordinary civil and criminal courts. While FATA was mainstreamed in 2021, it still lacks concrete evidence of success in policing.

He said that there was a dire need of Baloch Levy revamp.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2024