Pakistan to create new paramilitary force ahead of more protests by Imran Khan's party

Pakistan said on Monday it was creating a national paramilitary force, prompting concern among opposition parties and human rights groups that it could be used as a tool of political repression.

The move turns an existing paramilitary force deployed on Pakistan's northwestern border with Afghanistan into a national security force that will be called the Federal Constabulary, State Minister for the Interior Talal Chaudhry told a press conference in the eastern city of Faisalabad.

Its new duties will include internal security, riot control and counter-terrorism, according to a copy of the amended law reported by the local Dunya News TV.

The announcement came after Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party of former jailed Prime Minister Imran Khan said it would stage nationwide protests starting on August 5, the second anniversary of his arrest.

Supporters of Imran Khan's party carry a cutout of him as they gather to protest against government during a rally in Swabi. Reuters

Several such protests since his August 2023 arrest have turned violent, in some cases paralysing the capital Islamabad for days.

"This will be a new force. This will be a stronger force. We need this force for internal security," Chaudhry said, adding that President Asif Ali Zardari had already approved amendments in the law introducing changes in the paramilitary force.

The new force replaces the Frontier Constabulary (FC), whose cadres were previously recruited only from tribes in the northwestern province, Chaudhry said. Training of the new force will bring it into line with other national law enforcement agencies, he added.

Imran Khan's party spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said the changes should be subject to parliamentary discussion.

The new force "should not be used as a gimmick to silence political opponents, as has been previously witnessed when the government applied such laws against a large number of the PTI leadership and supporters," he said.

His concern was echoed by Haris Khalique, secretary of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent body.

"We are alarmed by the changes being made to the security and law enforcement structure of the country without any debate in parliament," Khalique said.

Reuters