The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government and FATA Secretariat have appointed interning authorities and Oversight Boards for internment centres in their respective areas, a Ministry of States and Frontier Regions official told Pakistan Today on Monday.
The interning authorities and oversight boards have been constituted in pursuance of the FATA and PATA Regulations, recently announced by the government, in aid of civil power whereby the armed forces have been authorised to detain suspected terrorists in internments centres and take whatsoever action against them.
According to the regulations, the KP governor, or any officer authorised by him, would be the interning authority, who, if needs, can again nominate another officer as interning authority. The interning authority has been empowered in the regulations to intern any person, whose internment in his opinion, is expedient for peace or it may strengthen the terrorists if he or she not interned or he or she obstructs actions in aid to civil power in any manner, whatsoever .
According to the official, the GOC 19 Division Malakand, District Magistrate Malakand, Brigade commander Malakand, Task force commander Malakand, Inspector General Frontier Constabulary (FC) Malakand and Sector Commander FC were named as interning authorities for the region of PATA. The interning authority in FATA, according to the official, would be commander of the concerned brigade, the FC Sector Commander and the Political Agents concerned or the DCOs of the Frontier Regions (FRs). The notification regarding the interning authority has been issued, the official added.
Meanwhile, the official said that oversight boards have also been constituted. As per the regulations, an oversight board, consisting of two civilian and two military officers, each in FATA and PATA, would be notified to review the cases of the detained persons and may take notice of any complaint in respect of degrading treatment of them.
According to the official, the PATA Oversight Board included Special Secretary, Home Department, and Inspector General (Prisons, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) as civilian members and a brigadier rank officer of Internal Security and Colonel rank officer of Surveillance and Reconnaissance from XI Corps as members from the armed forces.
Moreover, the FATA Oversight Board would have Secretary Law and Order and Concerned Divisional Commissioner or Political Agent as civilian members and a brigadier rank officer of internal security and Colonel rank officer of Surveillance and Reconnaissance from XI Corps as members from the armed forces.
