Opposition wants KP govt to recruit heirs of 200 police martyrs

PESHAWAR: The opposition in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly is to take up the issue of denying jobs to heirs of over 200 martyred policemen under the Shaheed Package.A member of the Awami National Party has submitted a call attention notice in the KP Assembly, demanding early recruitment of heirs of over 200 fallen heroes of the police force. “Everyone acknowledges the sacrifices of the KP Police for peace in the country. Despite offering unprecedented sacrifices, the families of policemen are faced with a number of problems. The heirs of over 200 martyred policemen are yet to be recruited under the Shaheed Package even though it is their right and the government should immediately induct them,” stated the call attention notice submitted by ANP MPA Shagufta Malik.The sons and brothers of a large number of martyred cops of the KP Police are waiting since long to be recruited as assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) under the Shaheed Package. The Shaheed Package for a police official in KP includes cash, salary till the age of 60, supporting education of the kids and recruitment of the son or brother of the martyred policeman as ASI in the force.Officials at the Central Police Office said they have sent a number of letters in this regard to the relevant departments but the matter was being delayed. The previous provincial government had created 300 supernumerary posts of ASIs for the families of the deceased policemen.A source informed that KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has directed the officials concerned to put up a summary to him in this regard. Most of the fallen policemen were the lone breadwinners for their families. The Shaheed Package is meant to compensate and support the families as an acknowledgement of their sacrifices.According to the record of the KP Police, the biggest share among the martyrs is that of constables as 1,240 of them have sacrificed lives since 1970. Most of them belonged to low-income families.Apart from the martyrs, there are a large number of policemen who were crippled or critically wounded in attacks and need to be taken care of. Also, there are cases in which policemen died in tragic incidents other than attacks during service but there is no system to provide financial support to their children. Majority of them belong to destitute families.“In a recent incident, ASI Israr and his wife lost lives in a gas explosion in their house in Hayatabad. Life will not be easy for their children who have lost both their parents and will need support from the government and force like the children of martyrs,” said an official of the Peshawar Police.He pointed out that there were a number of other tragic incidents in which policemen died during service and their families needed support from the government and the force. The official added that such cases need to be prepared by the welfare wing of the force for seeking special package and support for them.According to the statistics of the KP Police, over 1,300 policemen were martyred during the last 12 years. The record shows that 285 policemen had lost lives in different incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 1970 till 1999 but the numbers increased many times from 2000 to 2019 when 1,434 police officers and junior cops embraced martyrdom in suicide attacks, bomb blasts, target killings and ambushes.

from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2YXOiwA