KP governor announces substantial increase in police martyrs’ package

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has announced huge increase in compensation for police personnel martyred or injured in the line of duty besides raising the package for lower-ranking personnel from Rs11 million to Rs17 million. 

The revised package also provides for higher compensation for senior officers, cash assistance in place of residential plots for the families of martyred personnel, and financial support for the education and marriages of their children.

Addressing a ceremony for police martyrs at the Governor House in Peshawar, Kundi announced that compensation for martyred constables, head constables, assistant sub-inspectors, sub-inspectors and inspectors had been increased to Rs17 million.

The package for martyred deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) and superintendents of police (SPs) has been raised to Rs25 million, while the compensation for senior superintendents of police (SSPs), assistant inspectors general and officers in grades 18 and 19 has been increased to Rs30 million.

For deputy inspectors general, the provincial police chief and officers in grade 20 and above, the package has been set at Rs35 million. 

The governor also announced higher compensation for police personnel injured while performing their duties. The amount for personnel who suffer permanent disabilities has been increased from Rs500,000 to Rs5 million, while compensation for seriously injured personnel has been raised from Rs100,000 to Rs1.5 million. 

Under the revised arrangements announced by the governor, families of martyred police personnel will receive cash assistance in place of residential plots. 

The families of constables and head constables will receive Rs18 million instead of five-marla plots, while the families of assistant sub-inspectors, sub-inspectors and inspectors will receive Rs25 million in place of seven-marla plots. 

The families of martyred DSPs and SPs will be entitled to Rs35 million instead of 10-marla plots. For the families of SSPs and higher-ranking officers, the cash assistance has been set at Rs70 million in place of one-kanal plots. 

Kundi also announced compensation ranging from Rs3 million to Rs5 million for close relatives of police personnel killed in terrorist attacks, subject to the applicable criteria. 

The governor announced that the daughters of martyred police personnel would receive Rs1 million each for their marriages. He also pledged financial assistance for the education and other needs of the children of police martyrs, saying their families should not be left to bear the financial consequences of losing a breadwinner in the fight against terrorism. The governor said the provincial police would receive a welfare package modelled on arrangements in Punjab. He also said police salaries had been increased to bring them in line with those in other provinces.

During the ceremony, Kundi distributed allotment letters for residential plots among families of police personnel martyred in terrorist incidents in Bannu, Lakki Marwat and other districts.

He called for the government and all state institutions to stand behind the police, stressing that a coordinated strategy was necessary to eliminate terrorism. 

The announcement comes as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faces persistent security challenges and renewed federal intervention following the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule on October 11.

The governor had chaired a high-level meeting on October 13, attended by Chief Secretary Dr Muhammad Fakhar-e-Alam Irfan, Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed and other senior officials, to review police salaries and welfare arrangements for the families of martyred and injured personnel.

According to a statement issued by the Governor House after that meeting, Kundi directed officials to prepare and submit a summary containing proposals for salary increases and an enhanced compensation package. 

The proposals included replacing residential plots with cash assistance, providing financial support for the marriages of martyrs’ daughters and establishing an endowment fund to cover their children’s educational expenses. 

The Governor House said that the summary was to be finalised and submitted for further action.