Punjab minister lauds dedication of COAS

LAHORE: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif is a highly dedicated, committed professional and belongs to the family of Nishan-e-Haiders whose honour has to be maintained; Pakistani armed forces and the government have jointly stabilised the country and there is excellent understanding between the government and the forces with which the things are going so well; under instructions from Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif, work is going on in full swing on IC3 i.e Integrated Command and Control System for which ICC Authority has been set up; Punjab Police is undergoing revolutionary changes and would very soon transform into an effective, public friendly force in addition to being equipped with state-of-the art equipment; CT (Counter-Terrorism) Strategic Board formulates strategic policy which is in complete consonance with the overall framework of National Action Plan (NAP); Turkey has been a big help in our police system’s revamping while UK has trained some officers under their Capri programme and have deputed mentors in our forensic labs that are helping us; 500 SIs (Sub-Inspectors) have been inducted on strict merit who are nowadays under training at Elite Police training school to be posted out in different pivotal sectors; Special Branch is being totally detached from police and henceforth, the Special Branch staffers would be trained in Intelligence operations.
These views were expressed by Home Minister Punjab Col (R) Shuja Khanzada during an exclusive talk with The News here. Talking further, the minister said that UK’s Capri stands for Counter-Terrorism and Prosecution Reforms Initiative. “UK has trained our 58 personnel for four months not only from Punjab but also from other province. Under the same programme, 50 personnel have been trained in Risalpur in IEDs and UK also provided finances.”
As regards the CT Strategic Board, it is headed by the CM and includes the home minister and almost all departments’ secretaries or heads. “In fact, de-radicalisation is a matter relevant to all departments. Even social welfare, health and finance departments have a role to play in de-radicalisation. It meets once in a quarter and devises the policy matters.” As regards the Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, it is headed by home minister and other members include law minister, chief secretary, IGP and heads of all intelligence organisations.
The News was also informed that the Elite system has been reformed, starting from available human resources to information and IT. In recruitments, transparency has been number one priority as all the new recruitments of 5,000 cops have been done strictly on merit, through NTS. “They are the cream of Punjab and in training three most modern administrative and police science principles have been given top priority”. They are: Motivation, Attitude Training and Personality Building. Army has been requested to impart the training and they’re helping.
Talking further about ICC, the minister said a Bill would soon be tabled in the Punjab Assembly for Police Integrated Command and Control system which will be extended to Faisalabad, Pindi, Multan, Gujranwala very soon after Lahore. In the first phase, 1800 sites for installation of cameras have been identified where monitoring and surveillance cameras would be installed. It would be like the police monitoring system operational in some advanced foreign countries where cops are not found in the streets but arrive at the crime scene or crisis spot in minutes. This project would be commissioned in March next year.
As for the reforms, the home minister told The News that the police would be henceforth divided in separate specialised functional units like Counter-Terrorism, Watch and Ward, Elite Force etc. None of them will intermingle with each other. Coming to the Dolphin Force, the minister was asked to explain the use of the word Dolphin. The minister replied, “Dolphin’s behavior is very friendly and is swift. The same will be the overall conduct of our Dolphin Force for which tall cops, at least 5 feet 8 inches will be trained. First batch will comprise 800 cops and will be trained by master trainers who have already undergone training in Turkey. There will be 6 divisions of Dolphin Force in Lahore and their training will start next month. Equipped with 500cc heavy bikes, Dolphin Force will start operating by November or December next”.
As regards the protection of Chinese and other foreign investors in Pakistan, a Special Protection Unit (SPU) consisting of 5,000 personnel will be inducted out of which 2500 recruits have already come into SPU. And its officer-in-charge has also been appointed who is of the rank of Additional IGP. In this SPU, three retired Lt. colonels and six retired Majors of Pakistan Army background will also be inducted in senior positions who will also command certain units.
Elite will be made more mobile and responsive and turned into a practically rapid response force. Just one call at 15 or one sms or cell phone text message at 8330, this force will reach the concerned spot within five minutes. At this juncture, the home minister sent a text at 8330. In a minute’s time, the rapid force responded without having the knowledge that the text came from the minister.
As regards the sophistication of equipment for specialised police units, the minister said they would be equipped with bullet-proof jackets besides being provided APCs (Armed Personnel Carriers). Already, an order for 40 APCs has been placed with Heavy Mechanical Complex out of which 20 would be supplied in the initial phase. IT is also being relied upon in police functioning.
The home minister was then asked about the thana culture against which the CM had declared Jihad. The minister told The News that already 10 Model police stations had started functioning in Lahore where young FSc-qualified girls and boys were posted to deal efficiently and politely with the aggrieved people and “these youngsters are being paid Rs25 to 30 thousand. They are also equipped with computers and computer knowledge”. It was further disclosed that a separate anti-riot police is being established with horse-mounted units. In this sector too, Turkey is cooperating.
When asked to explain what steps have been taken to deal with Fourth Schedulers, the minister said that modern equipment for their monitoring had been bought and also tested for the objective of dealing with 1300 criminals in this category. Portable biometric machines have also been procured in the same connection.
Giving his views on the innovative process model invented with mathematical and scientific study of human mind, its functions, space and processes by Pak-Norwegian researcher, Tahir Mahmood, the home minister said that on receipt of a formal letter from the researcher, he would put it up for the CM’s approval for facilitating this social scientists’ visit to Punjab in the near future for further discussions. Already, the Norway-based researcher has had telephonic talk with Punjab home secretary on the CM’s instructions. Two officials including a senior cop affiliated with Punjab Home Department also met Tahir Mahmood in Norway recently and discussed his de-radicalisation model.