QUETTA, April 4 Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani said on Sunday that the Levies force would be restored in Balochistan after the approval of a bill to the effect by the provincial assembly on Monday.

The Balochistan Levies Force Bill 2010 envisaging restoration of the force was tabled in the assembly by Minister for Fisheries Mir Hamal Kalmati on Friday and would come up for debate on Monday.

The chief minister noted that the proposed law had been approved by the cabinet and provincial Levies force had already started functioning in six districts of the province while the federal Levies force was deployed in 16 districts.

In a policy statement on Sunday, the chief minister said during his maiden speech after assuming the office he had promised that efforts would be made to revive the Levies force to maintain public order in the province.

He said the dictatorial regime had disbanded the Levies force to please vested interest without realising the pros and cons of the decision creating a serious lacuna where writ of the law was challenged in rural areas in the absence of the Levies force.

Mr Raisani, who is also chief of Sarawan, said the Levies force had been playing an effective role in the province for more than a century.

The personnel associated with the force had more knowledge of the people and the geography of the interior of Balochistan than the personnel of other law-enforcement agencies who were mostly transferred from other parts of the country and had no knowledge of people and locations of the province.

The chief minister said the previous government had unilaterally dissolved the Levies force, turning the 'B-areas' into 'A-areas' with the notion that the law and order would be brought under control. “The time has proved that such unpopular decisions always fizzle out,” he said.

Mr Raisani expressed the hope that the provincial assembly would unanimously adopt the proposed bill in its concluding session on Monday.