Image Courtesy: Zahid Imdad/Dawn
In a first, a police station has started operations in the formerly hostile Wana, a town in South Waziristan. Wana has been severely hit by terrorism in the past and was constantly under the control of Armed Forces primarily the Frontier Corps and Pakistan Army.
In a conversation with Dawn News Director of Public Relations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Shehzada Farooq Kokab said,
"The police station has been established in a fort that was vacated by the Frontier Corps."
According to Kokab, the police station is 'fully functional" and patrolling in nearby areas is underway (Dawn). Reportedly the police station will work similarly to all other police stations across the country under the code of criminal procedures and other relevant laws.
It is pertinent to mention here that prior to the merger of erstwhile FATA and KPK, the area in question was under a unique set of laws also known as Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). The law and order responsibility rested upon the traditional khasadar force assisted by the levies. As per reports, both the forces are to operate in a parallel structure with the police.
Khasadar Force
The khasadars were a special kind of force where the recruits were local tribesmen. They were paid through a special stipend by the government of Pakistan. They operate through hereditary rights where Khasadars alone have no value or discretionary powers, in particular, its the tribe they belong to that governs respective Khasadars.
KPK-FATA Merger
The KPK government, federal authorities, and FATA representatives have been working on a coherent plan to merge the two, which have been through worse in terms of law and order situation. Ever since the merger of erstwhile FATA took place, the KPK government is adamant to govern the tribal areas with peace and prosperity thus integrating them with the province on a much larger scale.