City police looking to hire private guards over worries of manpower shortage

The police department is facing a shortage of officials to perform security duties during next month’s general elections, the Karachi police chief disclosed to The News during an exclusive interview.

“On Election Day 45,000 personnel will be deployed. At present, however, we’re facing a shortage of 10,000 personnel. We have requested the government for additional staff, and we also require female staff for election duties,” said Addl IGP Khadim Hussain Rind.

“The Karachi police currently has 1,100 female officers. To meet this shortage we have requested the government to provide us with 2,000 female staff from the health department or any other relevant department for election duties.”

Rind pointed out that the shortage would not be completely met by these measures, saying that the government has also been requested to allow hiring security guards working for private security companies.

“Additionally, we’re considering hiring personnel from certain government departments, such as the excise department and the anti-encroachment department. In the past elections we had received support from volunteers, so we’re anticipating a similar response this time as well.” He said that in cases where shortage persists despite the aforementioned measures, their option is to deploy police officers who have recently retired. “This way we aim to meet the required number of personnel and ensure we have adequate manpower for election duties.”

There are a total of 5,336 polling stations in Karachi. Except a few hundred, all the remaining polling stations are considered sensitive, 2,079 classified as most sensitive and 2,700 as sensitive.

The scale of police deployment will be based on this classification, ensuring that appropriate deployments are made to handle the sensitivity of these locations. In addition to the regular deployments, reserves will be available, including officers at different levels such as station house officers (SHOs), deputy superintendents of police (DSPs), superintendents of police (SPs) and deputy inspectors general (DIGs).

Besides these measures, a Quick Response Force (QRF) will be established, with one QRF assigned to eight to 12 polling stations. In case of a report of violence or any law and order situation, the relevant QRF will respond to address the situation immediately.

The police department will also be supported by the paramilitary Rangers. “Their QRF will also be present with us. In this way we have devised our plan, and preparations for the elections are under way,” said Rind.

The city police chief said he believes that his department would deal with law and order problems and incidents of violence in an effective manner, maintaining control over the situation.

“Our plan also includes providing short training sessions to individuals we come across. They’ll be informed about how the election is conducted, the process of lining up voters, the procedures for checks and other relevant details,” he pointed out.

“Additionally, we have devised a plan to integrate external individuals with our own personnel by deploying them together. This strategy aims to enhance coordination and ensure a smoother deployment of resources during the elections.” He clarified that the reserves in the QRF would be comprised of only police personnel. “We won’t mix outsiders with them. However, for statistical duties at polling stations we plan to integrate external individuals into the teams.”

He explained that this approach is considered more effective, and it allows them to work collaboratively. “Moreover, we’ll provide training in this manner to ensure that everyone involved is well-prepared for their respective roles.”