| July 19, 2008 | Saturday | Rajab 15, 1429 |
The ragtag police system in Fata
A decision last week by the Islamabad High Court must have sounded like music to the ears of those city cops, who felt they were being discriminated against — at the hands of the federal government.
The court turned a petition by the Islamabad police personnel demanding that their salary package be brought at par with that of Islamabad Traffic Police into a representation before asking the federal government to ensure it plays the good cop for the overall morale of under-the-weather cops.
The directive followed a writ petition filed by Assistant Sub-Inspector Muhammad Tabrez and 32 of his comrades in the Islamabad Police under Article 199 of the Constitution.
Pertaining to the ‘Jurisdiction of High Court’ the said article under (1-c) says: Subject to the Constitution, a High Court may, if it satisfied that no other adequate remedy is provided by law on the application of any aggrieved person, make an order giving such directions to any person or authority, including any government exercising any power or performing any function in, or in relation to, any territory within the jurisdiction of that Court as may be appropriate for the enforcement of any of the Fundamental Rights conferred by Chapter I of Part II.
The said chapter under Article 27 entitled Safeguard against discrimination in services clearly says: No citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakistan shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground only for race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth.
Through their counsel Chaudhry Afrasiab Khan, the petitioners pointed to how the ITP personnel were granted allowances equal to one month pay, free bachelor accommodation, house rent ceiling in cash, free uniform for both summer and winter, which were not given to the petitioners and other employees of the Islamabad Police.
The petitioners enjoy the blessings of their boss, Syed Asghar Raza Gardezi, the Inspector-General of Police, Islamabad, who not only supports the demand but has also submitted a request for granting relief to the petitioners.
Ever since, the personnel of the Islamabad Traffic Police replicated the successful Motorway Police model, their ‘brethren’ in the regular police force have felt a bit like children of a lesser god — and not without reason.
There is no doubt that the smarter ITP personnel have made their presence felt. Be it the slick uniform or simple form as law enforcers, they have continued to man the capital’s landscape with diligence and alacrity.
They have motored the citizens’ road behaviour like none before them: by issuing tickets even to the high and mighty without discrimination they have provided a symbolic manifestation of how law could, indeed, be equal for all.
This of course, does not imply the high and mighty weren’t able to eventually get round to avoid paying the ticket fine, but at least, the willingness and spirit to set things right has been worth the while.
Before my foray into television, as a former newspaper editor one was instrumental in campaigning for replicating the Motorway Police model in Islamabad.
One can happily report that its successful implementation led, for instance, to yours truly being ‘ticketed’ like all citizens following an unwitting car parking violation.
Despite pleading innocence on account of no signboard indicating the off-limit for parking, one was happy to be ‘brought to justice’ in Bush speak. The ITP personnel ignored the rather obvious media tag on my car. Not that it should have interfered with the application of law.
However, to put the issue into perspective, it must be said the ITP have found it easier to play the good cop as compared to the regular Islamabad Police force.
The ITPwallas have been well looked after in terms of upkeep even as their ‘lesser brethren’ have sweated it out without much fun.
The deputy attorney-general (DAG) contended that the petitioners are civil servants whose pay and allowances follow the terms and conditions, which can be appealed or represented only before the Federal Service Tribunal.
However, after hearing arguments from both sides, the Islamabad High Court observed that there was a tremendous disparity in the scale of the two police forces working in the same area under similar situation. Hence, the directive to the federal government to play the honest cop by restoring parity.
The writer is News Editor at Dawn News. He may be contacted at kaamyabi@gmail.com
POLICING is considered to be a state responsibility and the police are supposed to be well-trained, well-equipped and well-paid force keeping in view the nature of the job. However, the police system in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), which is referred to as Khassadari system, is unique. Unlike the policemen, the Khassadars have a strange service structure.
First, look into their salary structure. A Khassadar’s salary starts from Rs3,000 but he is not entitled to pension after his retirement. In other words his service is not pensionable. Most interestingly, the Khassadars are required to arrange weapons, ammunitions, food ration and uniform including caps and shoes at their own. It also makes an amazing contrast that the world’s seventh nuclear power has a ragtag police force, which banks on outdated 303-rifles against smugglers and criminals equipped with sophisticated weapons. Initially the Khassadars had 303-rifles but the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan changed their lifestyle and many of them equipped themselves with AK-47 assault rifles. One can easily infer that a man who is paid mere Rs3,000 stipend, why he would lay his life for the shenanigans of the rulers sitting in cosy palaces in Peshawar and Islamabad. The rulers had devoured all the dollars which were meant for the development of infrastructure in the Fata, and uplift of the Frontier Corps and tribal people.
In the first quarter of the 20th century, the British rulers raised a loosely organised Khassadar force for the protection of strategic roads passing thorough the tribal region. The British agreed to give allowances to the tribes in the form of Khassadars. Accordingly each tribe, through whose area the road was to pass, were given jobs of the Khassadari who were to be paid out of the allowances given to the tribe/s for keeping the road open.
After partition, responsibilities of the Khassadar force were increased, which included protection of roads, manning of pickets, protection of government buildings, traffic control, collection of revenues, service of summons, detection and prevention of crimes, and combating trafficking of narcotics. Moreover, this ill-equipped and ill-trained tribal security force has been granted additional responsibility in the wake of the war on terror to protect checkposts and convoys of the army troops in the conflict-hit areas of the Fata.
The Fata, comprising seven agencies and six Frontier Regions (FRs), has two types of security forces -- Khassadars and Levies. The service structure of both forces is almost the same. However, the government provides weapons and ammunition to the Levies. Out of seven tribal agencies, the Levies force, comparatively well organised, has been raised in three regions: Bajaur, Kurram and Orakzai. The total strength of the Khassadars is about 17,000 while the number of Levies personnel is 4,019.
Unfortunately, the federal ministry of state and frontier region has yet to regularise the service structure of both forces in the tribal region. In 1983 the office of the defunct commissioner Kohat had notified that service structure of the Levies in Kurram and Orakzai regions would be regularised and the Levies personnel would be entitled to get pension as admissible under the rule. They would be entitled to gratuity and allowances. Moreover, they would be provided with uniform and other benefits. But the status quo is still the same.
After the 9/11 when the flow of foreign funds started, the federal government embarked upon a so-called reform programme under which the Fata was to be integrated with the NWFP and both the Levies and Khassadars had to be imparted proper training to handle law and order situation in the region. The federal government had approved an amount of Rs2.1 billion for re-organising the Levies and Khassadars with the financial assistance of the US government. It was planned to replace the Khassadari system with the Levies force.
The training plan was put in practice in 2004, but the government annulled it in 2007. During a period of three years, they imparted training to about 4,000 Khassadars and Levies men only. Why the government has suspended the training programme? It is still a puzzle!
One wonders that the Afghan National Army’s strength has reached to 76,000 since 2002, but Islamabad has failed to impart even basic training to its 21,000 security personnel in the tribal area, however, Islamabad has bagged over $10 billion economic and military assistance from the US government in this regard. The Fata, which lacks any legal system, has become a black-hole. No one knows who is running the region: the political administration, intelligence agencies or militant outfits???
