Faisalabad:
The Minister of State in the Interior and the Head of the Senior PMLN, Senator Talal Chaudhary, said that the border gendarme (FC) was restructured and renowned in Federal Constabulary only to strengthen the internal and national security of Pakistan.
He addressed a press conference at the office of the deputy commissioner on Monday. The commander of FC Riaz Nazir Gara was also present.
The Minister’s declaration occurred a day after President Asif Ali Zardari promulgated an order allowing the federal government to transform FC, a border security force, in Federal Constabulary to maintain public order, complete the law enforcement agencies and meet various security needs in a coordinated manner.
“It will be a new strength. It will be a stronger force.
We need this strength for internal security, “said Chaudhry, adding that the president had already approved changes in the law introducing changes into paramilitary force.
The decision to reorganize the FC arouses the concern of opposition parties and human rights groups that it could be used as a tool for political repression.
The Minister, however, said that the RECONT OF THE FC is not a politically motivated decision, but that it is an institutional necessity to improve the coordination, remuneration and capacity of this force in all the provinces and territories of Pakistan.
This is a question purely linked to defense to strengthen national defense by providing support to the organizations responsible for the application of laws, he added.
He said the FC had played a central role in maintaining peace and security within the country and along its borders for almost a century, but this force has not received recognition and advantages comparable to other security forces in Pakistan.
He deplored that despite limited wages and less privileges, FC staff have always served the nation an unshakable dedication.
“Now, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Federal Interior Minister Mohin Naqvi have decided to transform FC into a federal force to fight against disparity with an improved structure and scope under the new name of the Federal Constabulary,” he added.
He clarified that during the modification of the name, the identity and central function of the FC as Constabulary remain intact. Restructuring would help ensure that its staff receives wages, training and benefits equal to other national security forces, he added.
He said FC has long participated in the fight against drug trafficking, smuggling and supporting civil law enforcement agencies during sensitive events such as Muharram, anti-political elections and campaigns. Now he would continue to assume these responsibilities as part of his new federal framework, he added.
He said that with the reorganization, the jurisdiction of Federal Constabulary would be extended to include the four provinces as well as Gilgit / Baltistan and Azad Jammu- & Cachemire.
He declared that recruitment will be open to all citizens from across the country and that the federal government would carry all operational and financial responsibilities, relieving the provinces of any budgetary burden.
The RECONT OF THE FC would include updated training modules, capacity building initiatives and a modernized command structure designed to raise morale and the efficiency of its staff, he added.
The FC commander, Riaz Nazir Gara, provided a historical context and said that the FC had been created in 1913, originally known as Constabulary of the northwest border. He was operated under an act which is now over 100 years old.
Recognizing the urgent need for reform, he declared that the FC would be realized in a more robust institution managed by the federal government with clearly defined levels of command, in particular platoons, businesses and wings.
He said that FC had 41 wings and that its 36 wings are currently deployed under the security division. The revamped structure would rationalize these units to improve efficiency, he added.
Commander Gara revealed that the staff of 423 FC had put their lives in the exercise of his functions which testifies to the commitment and the sacrifice of this force.
The reorganization would help to honor these sacrifices by offering a better command structure, improved installations and clearer career paths for FC members, he added.
The Minister of State and the FC commander both urged the public, the media and the stakeholders to carefully read the new prescription linked to the federal gendarmerie to avoid false ideas.
This transformation is a strategic and institutional reform which would help to meet the challenges of internal security and to improve the operational capacity of one of the oldest organizations of the law in the country, they added.
Meanwhile, development has raised concerns among opposition parties and human rights groups that could be used as a tool for political repression.
The announcement reached after the PTI said that it would organize national demonstrations from August 5, the second anniversary of the arrest of the founder of the Imran Khan party. Several of these protests since his arrest in August 2023 became violent, in some cases, paralyzing the capital Islamabad for days.
PTI chief, Zulfikar Bukhari, said the changes should be subject to a parliamentary discussion.
The new strength “should not be used as a gadget to silence political opponents, as has been witness before when the government applied such laws against leaders and supporters of the PTI,” he said.
His concern was resolved by Haris Khalique, secretary of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission.
“We are alarmed by the changes to the country’s security and security structure without any debate in parliament,” Khalique said.
