Pakistan: Protests against merger of provincial and federal levies forces with police

Quetta, Oct 22 (IANS) Security personnel in Pakistan's Kalat recently held a protest against Balochistan government's decision to integrate the Levies Force into the police department, local media reported.

Levies personnel held protests across Balochistan after the provincial government issued a notification, announcing the merger. Members of the Levies Force held a rally in Kalat, which commenced at the Levies Headquarters and passed through Shahi Bazaar, Hospital Road, Harboi Road, Darbar Road, and other main areas before returning to the headquarters, The Balochistan Post reported.

Holding placards against the integration of the two forces, the protesters shouted slogans against the merger of the Levies Force into the police.

While addressing the protesters, Levies officers and personnel said the Levies force has a 142-year history and has played an important role in maintaining law and order in Balochistan, with many members losing their lives while performing their duty.

They said that a similar merger attempt in the past was unsuccessful and warned that repeating the same move would fail again. The speakers requested the Balochistan government to implement High Court's stay order on the merger and immediately withdraw the recently issued notification.

According to an official notification issued on October 16, the Balochistan government after getting nod from the provincial cabinet, merged the provincial and federal levies forces with the police in six out of seven administrative divisions of the province, declaring these divisions as A-Areas, Pakistan's leading daily Dawn reported.

The six divisions where merger of Levies force and police has been approved include Quetta, Rakhshan, Kalat, Makran, Zhob and Nasirabad. However, the levies force in Sibi division, which includes Sibi, Kohlu, Dera Bugti, Harnai and Ziarat districts, has not been integerated into the Balochistan police.

According to the official notification, the Balochistan Home Department called the entire revenue limits of Makran, Rakhshan, Nasirabad, Quetta and Kalat Divisions as A-Areas, for territorial jurisdiction of the Balochistan police, with immediate effect.

The notification further stated that all members of the Levies Force - both provincial and ex-federal levies - who work in the aforementioned converted areas and members of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Wing, are merged into the Balochistan police.

--IANS

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