Federal Levies Force must be given full support because it plays an important role in the security spectrum of Pakistan. This was stated by Chairman Senate Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas Senator Usman Khan Kakar. The meeting of the committee was held here at the Parliament House of Friday.
Deliberating over the budget for the next financial year, the committee stressed the need for allocation and disbursement of funds as per requirement of the federal and provincial Levies force. The committee was further informed that a budget of Rs 1.9 billion had been allocated for the 6,595 personnel of the federal levies force in the current fiscal year.
According to Kakar, Levies Force provides security to 90 percent population of Balochistan, whereas just 10 percent of the populace is covered by police. He added that it is sad to observe 90 percent of the annual budget is allocated for police as opposed to mere 10 percent assigned to the Levies. This, he said, barely meets the department's basic needs.
While deliberating over the assistance package for those employees who die or get injured during service, the committee recommended that emoluments must be increased as per escalation in the US dollar rate against Pak rupee. Kakar said that inflation and other factors must be considered as well in this regard.
While evaluating the status of recommendations made in the last meeting, the members were informed that as per the committee's directives, rules for Federal Levies have been submitted to the Balochistan government for approval, after which these will be submitted to the Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas within a month.
Minister for State and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Shehryar Khan Afridi assured the committee of the ministry's all-out support to Levies and Khasadars and called a meeting immediately to discuss all issues pertaining to the department in detail. He said the issue would be resolved at the earliest keeping in view the recommendations of the committee.
The chairman committee recommended that all allocated funds and facilities be disbursed to the Levies immediately. Senator Kalsoom Parveen was of the view that details of budget allocation must be provided to the committee. She said the government must take necessary measures for the safety of personnel of Levies and Khasadars who serve under extreme tough conditions.
Senator Fida Muhammad Khan demanded details of the past five years related to Malakand Levies in the next meeting. He also asked for a list of personnel who were martyred and injured while performing their duties. The committee demanded similar details of the Levies Force serving in all districts of Balochistan.