Balochistan govt extends policing powers of FC for three months

QUETTA: The government of Balochistan on Monday extended the policing powers of Frontier Corps in Quetta for another three months, it has been learnt.

The policing powers of FC had expired recently and were extended by the provincial government to maintain law and order situation in the city, a Balochistan Home Department told DawnNews.

The provincial government issued notification in this regard, a copy of which is available with DawnNews.

Giving details, the source revealed that the extension in powers of FC will be effective till February 16, 2016.

FC has been given the extension in its policing powers in the aftermath of the rise in incidents of targeted killings in Quetta.

"The government decided to grant policing powers to FC to maintain order," the source said.

The government decided to grant policing powers to FC to maintain the order.

Balochistan Chief Minister Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch, however, claims to have achieved more than 60 per cent peace in Quetta city as compared to the past.

"The number of blasts and incidents of targeted killings have considerably dropped in Quetta", Dr. Baloch said.

Federal government had delegated policing powers to the Frontier Corps in Quetta on the directives of the then prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in 2013, in the wake of the multiple bombings that have claimed the lives of over 100 people.

Moreover, scores of suspected militants affiliated with outlawed groups have been arrested in the city since the announcement of National Action Plan (NAP).