Provinces raising their own anti-terror armies of thousands

ISLAMABAD: As Punjab, Sindh and KP are raising their own units comprising thousands of trained fighters to combat terrorism, the Punjab and Sindh squads will be different in many respects from a similar force being created in KP.

The Punjab and KP forces will fight against terrorism in their respective provincial jurisdictions, and may at times complement each other where required. In Sindh the extra 10,000 strength will be added to the police force.

In Punjab, the entity to be named as the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) will be a totally separate and specialized squad that will deal with terrorists and hardened criminals.

The Sindh government has announced to employ 10,000 personnel in the provincial police, it is likely to follow Punjab in having its own distinct force to tackle the menace of terrorism, target killings, and kidnappings for ransom, who rule supreme in Karachi.

Similarly, the Balochistan government is expected to have a similar force for the purpose but nothing concrete has yet been announced.

On the other hand, the KP brigade to be called Anti-Terrorism Task Force (ATTF) will work under the Inspector General Police (IGP), who already has a large force under his command. The KP force will comprise all law enforcement and intelligence agencies including the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and Frontier Constabulary.

On the contrary, the Punjab squad will be an independent force and will consist of newly recruited personnel from other departments, who would be offered lucrative pays in additional to impressive perks and privileges. Young men, who are not yet employed in any department but meet the specified qualifications, will also be taken in the force afterward. The KP cabinet has approved the establishment of the task force.

However, it is not known when the new squad will become functional to challenge the terrorists. The decision was taken two days after KP Law Minister Israrullah Gundapur was killed in a suicide attack along with ten others in his native area on the first Eidul Azha day.

However, the Punjab government has kick-started the process of putting up the new force, which will be become operational in February next. A screening committee will oversee the recruitment process.

Specialized training will be imparted to its personnel keeping in the requirements of their assignment.

The Punjab government will have a special budget for the new entity as its members will be given increased salaries apart from housing facilities and payment of heavy compensations to the heirs of those who were martyred in the line of duty.

Although provincial police, special branches and the crime investigation departments are rendering assistance in tracking down and catching terrorists and other criminals, federal spy outfits and other agencies are mainly involved in dealing with terrorism as they have the requisite sophisticated gadgets and instruments.

An official said that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif will personally watch over the recruitment process in the new force so that only those who could meet the challenge as desired were selected.

In some ways, the ATF will be on the pattern of the traffic police of Islamabad and the Pakistan Motorway Police. Their employees get almost salaries double the ordinary police and are generally regarded as honest, dutiful and helpful. There have been little or no public complaints about their corruption. They don’t unnecessarily create problems for the commuters.