A Posthumous K.P.M. for Gallantry awarded to Subedar Mir Zaman Yusafzai, Frontier Constabulary, North West Frontier Province

King’s Police Medal, G.V.R., 2nd issue, for Gallantry (Late Mir Zaman Yusafzai. Subedar, Frontier Constabulary, N.W.F.P.) very fine £500-600

Recommendation for award of K.P.M. on 1 January 1937:

‘No. 26 Frontier Province. For conspicuous gallantry Mir Zaman Yusafzai, deceased Subedar, Frontier Constabulary.

On the 8th April 1936, Subedar Mir Zaman was returning from a patrol on the Jani Khel border to Jani Khel Frontier Constabulary Post, when he noticed an armed man in the neighbourhood of Nananur village, about a mile from the border of the Tribal territory. The Subedar quickened his pace in order to find out who the man was and whether his rifle was licensed. The man immediately started to run in the direction of the border, and in view of this suspicious conduct the Subedar divided his party in two in order to prevent his escape. The Subedar himself with three rifles overtook the man, but when the latter saw that escape was impossible, he fired at a range of about seven yards and the Subedar was struck in the abdomen and fell. The man was closing in on the Subedar when the latter raised himself from the ground and fired four rounds from his revolver and killed him. On hearing the noise of the shots a number of people emerged armed from the village of Kui Ali Khel nearby across the border. The Subedar realised that the people were hostile and outnumbered his party considerably. So he stood up and having seized the dead man’s rifle began to conduct a retreat. In a short time, however, the Subedar collapsed, and as he was clearly dying the party halted and took up defensive positions as a result of which a fight with the armed villagers was averted. The Subedar’s action in thus pursuing and killing his assailant when he was mortally wounded, following by his continuing to lead his men up to the moment of his collapse, showed gallantry and devotion to duty of a very high order.

Subedar Mir Zaman had nearly 25 years of good record of Military and Frontier Constabulary service to his credit and was on the verge of retirement. During the last three years he had been a prominent figure in the campaign launched in Bannu to reduce illicit armament, and he had been instrumental in recovering 6 firearms with 53 live rounds and arrested 25 outlaws and other criminals partly in conjunction with Police and partly in conjunction with Frontoer Constabulary parties under his command.’