Muhammad irshad ullah
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police department is facing a significant shortage of Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) officers, severely impacting administrative and operational efficiency across the province. The deficiency, affecting grades 17, 18, and 19, has strained the law and order system and weakened the command structure of the force.
According to police sources, the situation is dire. In grade 19, only 35 PSP officers are currently serving against a sanctioned strength of 57, leaving 22 positions vacant. The problem extends to grade 18, where 117 officers are serving out of 131 approved posts, resulting in 14 vacancies. Similarly, in grade 17, 7 out of 15 sanctioned posts remain unfilled.
This shortfall is particularly disruptive to the appointment of District Police Officers (DPOs) in several districts. The absence of qualified officers is hampering administrative tasks and operational readiness, especially in the merged districts where maintaining security is already a challenge.
Despite raising this issue with the federal government on at least four separate occasions, the KP police department has received no substantive response or action. Police officials have highlighted the reluctance of officers to accept postings outside Islamabad and Punjab, which has further worsened the crisis in KP.
A senior police official stated, “Without filling these vacancies, it is impossible to ensure effective policing and security, especially in sensitive areas.”
The KP police are urging the federal government to promptly address the shortage by assigning the necessary PSP officers to the province. They believe that filling these posts is critical to restoring and maintaining an efficient law enforcement system in the region.
