CHITRAL: Chitral Nazim Maghfirat Shah has demanded more than doubling the number of police stations in the district keeping in view its geostrategic location and long porous border with Afghanistan.

Talking to the media persons here on Tuesday, he said keeping in view the urgency of the issue the district council had passed a unanimous resolution demanding that the number of existing 12 police stations should be increased to 26 to ensure effective policing.

District naib nazim Maulana Abdul Shakoor was also present.

Mr Shah said the district comprised one-fifth area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa consisting of about 15,000 square kilometres, adding the current police strength was unable to keep peace in the district.

“When an avalanche struck Shershal village in Karimabad valley last month, wiping out 25 houses, it was the police force which rushed to the village and saved dozens of precious lives,” he said, and added it became possible as the village was near the Shoghore a police station.

The nazim said in view of the location of each sub-tehsil, there was an intense need of not only increasing the number of police stations but also opening a police circle in each sub-tehsil supervised by an officer of DSP rank.

He said launching of CPEC, and other projects manned by foreigners and promotion of tourism also necessitated increase in the number of police stations.

Maghfirat Shah said a large number of foreign investors were coming to the district to invest in micro hydropower stations, and provision of foolproof security to them was not possible without a police station in the vicinity of the project area.

To promote tourism industry in the district by exploiting its fabulous potential also needs presence of police stations in each valley, he added.

He pointed out that in Mardan, a police station covered an area of 90 square kilometres, in Swat 260 square km, in Nowshera 194 square km, while in Chitral a police station covered more than 1,100 square km.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2017