PESHAWAR – Work has started on introducing a special insurance policy for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, under which families of personnel martyred in the line of duty will receive additional compensation from the insurance company apart from the existing Shuhada Package, while police officers, personnel and their families will also get free medical treatment.
According to sources, consultation has been held between Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi and Inspector General of Police (IGP) regarding the insurance policy. On the direction of the Governor, a meeting was also held with the insurance company, after which the proposed plan has been presented to the Welfare Wing of the IGP.
Sources said after finalizing the plan, it will be approved in consultation with the Governor and IGP. The insurance company and police sources have confirmed that the special insurance plan is in its final stages.
According to sources, this project is being prepared keeping in view the medical treatment of the police force fighting against terrorism, financial protection of families of martyrs and welfare of families of personnel. Under the proposed policy, police officers and personnel will be provided free medical treatment facility, while their families will also be able to benefit from this facility.
Police officials have made it clear to the insurance company that the treatment facility should be available equally to all personnel and officers without discrimination of rank.
Sources said that the project also includes a proposal to provide treatment in better hospitals, private rooms and emergency medical facilities. However, the final details of these facilities and insurance coverage will be determined after the approval of the policy.
Police sources say that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government already has a Shuhada Package, however, after the establishment of the new administrative setup, changes have been made in it. According to sources, approval has also been given to give cash compensation instead of plot for martyrs.
Under the proposed insurance policy, it is proposed to give separate compensation to the families of martyred personnel apart from that.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, citizens are provided treatment facility through Sehat Card, however, according to police officials, despite this, the need for a separate insurance policy for the police force is being felt. According to police sources, personnel face risks of terrorism incidents, firing and bullet injuries during duty, while not every type of treatment facility is available under Sehat Card. For this reason, it has been proposed to introduce a system through which timely and better medical facilities can be provided to injured personnel.
According to sources, in the current system of police, injured personnel sometimes have to get treatment at their own expense, after which they submit the expense bills to the concerned authorities. Due to long delay in approval and payment of bills, personnel face financial difficulties and in some cases timely treatment is also affected.
According to police officials, the purpose of the proposed insurance policy is to reduce these problems and provide immediate financial protection to personnel for treatment.’More than 124,000 Police Personnel Will Benefit’According to police sources, the total strength of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Force is more than 124,000, however, the process of compiling the number of their family members and related data has not yet been completed.
Sources said that after compiling the final data of personnel and their families, the financial volume, coverage and other conditions of the insurance plan will be finalized.
An official of the insurance company said that Sindh Police has already availed the insurance facility, while now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police is also getting the insurance facility.
