PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday directed the provincial government to complete the process of merging the former Khassadars of the erstwhile Mohmand Agency into the police force.
A single-member bench comprising Justice Naeem Anwar adjourned the hearing of a contempt of court petition until April 14 after the provincial government informed the court that the process of merging the petitioners into the police was under way.
The court adjourned the hearing of the contempt of court petition filed against the provincial government for allegedly failing to merge 55 former Khassadars of the erstwhile Mohmand Agency into the police force.
The court had taken up the petition filed by Ghanam Gul and others seeking contempt proceedings against government officials for not implementing the court’s earlier orders.During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners Fazal Shah Mohmand appeared before the court, while Naeem Shah, additional advocate general, represented the provincial government.
Deputy Secretary Home Abdul Qayyum Khattak and the Superintendent of Police (SP), Legal, of the Central Police Office also appeared before the court.The counsel for petitioners informed the court that the Peshawar High Court had issued orders in 2024 directing the merger of the former Khassadar force of erstwhile Fata into the Police Department.
He said the total number of affected personnel was 161, out of which 105 had already been merged into the police force, while the remaining petitioners had yet to be accommodated. He added that the petitioners were also deprived of their salaries.
The counsel argued that failure to implement the court’s clear directives amounted to contempt of court and requested the bench to initiate proceedings against the relevant provincial government officials.
However, representatives of the provincial government told the court that the process of merging the petitioners into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police in Mohmand was in progress and sought more time to complete it.
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