F.P. Report
TIMERGARA: The General Officer Commanding (GOC) Malakand division major General Khalid Saeed said that army check’s posts at Chakdara and Dargai Malakand were being handed over to civilian administration on special directives of Peshawar Corps commander.
The GOC was addressing a jirga of elders at the Dir Scouts Fort Balambat here as a chief guest. The sitting and former lawmakers from Lower Dir, Commandant Dir Task Force Colonel Amir Shehzad, deputy commissioner Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, DPO Arif Shahbaz Wazir, civil and military personnel and area elders attended the jirga.
The GOC appreciated people of Lower Dir for their support and cooperation with law enforcement agencies in maintaining law and order. He said the army had handed over its security check posts to civil administration first in Lower and Upper Dir and then Swat. “This experiment succeeded and following the example security check posts at Chakdara and Dargai have also been handed over to police and Malakand Levies on special directives of the Peshawar Corps Commander,” the GOC said, adding that Pakistan army provided six months’ social training to 2200 detainees involved in petty crimes at army training centers. He hoped those detainees would be proved useful citizens when freed as their mind set had been changed.
Major General Khalid Saeed expressed pleasure on law and order situation in Lower Dir and said that it was the result of all-out public support and cooperation with security forces. He said the Pakistan army was planning to support the Timergara deaf and dumb school for special children in order to decreased burden on parents. The GOC also praised Lower Dir civil and military administration for arranging a successful ‘Malakand Marathon Race’ competition and announced that such events would be held in future too. The Pak army, district administration and sports’ department had jointly arranged the marathon race in Lower Dir on Dec, 19 last year.
The GOC said the security forces would continue its support and cooperation with the civil administration in order to provide better facilities to public and improve service delivery of government officials. The Lower Dir district nazim Muhammad Rasool Khan, MPA Azam Khan and others demanded of the government to extend the Swat motor way to Dir and Chitral. Some of the participants sought concession in carrying out blasting in rocks and transporting of timber for domestic use.
Also in the day the Jandol battalion commander Lt. Colonel Shahid Aman visited a religious seminary at Munda Karaiz and presented gifts to its students. Talking to local journalists he said that students of religious seminaries also deserved government attention and facilities like students of public sector schools and colleges. He said that obtaining religious education was obligatory for every Muslim man and woman. He said that seminaries should provide all facilities to its students. Maulana Muhammad Irshad, Maulana Muhammad Ikram and Maulana Muhammad Ilyas briefed him on seminaries’ facilities and arrangements. They said the seminaries would extend their cooperation with the Pak army.
