Special Combat Unit deployed in Peshawar, Mardan

PESHAWAR: A contingent of highly trained Special Combat Unit (SCU) was deployed in the provincial capital and another in Mardan to respond to emergency situations, particularly terror attacks.

The contingent of 45 commandoes of the SCU placed at the disposal of the capital city police officer (CCPO) Peshawar has starting doing exercises in a bid to efficiently respond to emergency.

“One SCU has been deployed in Peshawar and another in Mardan range. More units will be given to other ranges in the coming days,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Salahuddin Khan Mahsud told The News.

The SCU is highly trained and equipped with latest weapons and ammunition. It will be used in extraordinary situations and terror attacks to help the police maintain law and order.

“Before the SCU, a number of contingents of the Elite Force were also handed over to Peshawar Police recently for quick response to terrorist attacks,” a police official said.

Peshawar has been the prime target of the terrorists. The city has witnessed the highest number of attacks since 2006 that claimed the lives of scores of civilians and security personnel.

“A number of measures have been taken in recent years to improve law and order in the city. The deployment of SCU is also an effort to improve security in Peshawar,” an official told The News.

The 150-men strong SCU is part of the Elite Police Force of KP and is stationed in Peshawar. The unit acts only when extraordinary situation arises anywhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The SCU is transported via helicopters if needed to the remotest towns in Dera Ismail Khan or anywhere in Hazara or Malakand divisions.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police authorities raised SCU in 2014 on the pattern of the US Marines and the Zarrar Company of the Special Services Group (SSG) of the Pakistan Army to deal with emergency situations.

The special force was imparted commando training once its members were selected from the Elite Force. Almost all the members of the SCU volunteered to be part of the exclusive force that is to respond to hostage taking, kidnapping, suicide mission or a major attack in any part of the province.

“Apart from tough commando training, the SCU has gone through a six-week training conducted by the Pakistan Navy. This included diving, water-related rescue operations, first aid in water- related emergencies, swimming, boating and other skills,” an official said.

The unit, he added, has also completed the heli-borne training during which the commandoes were trained how to jump from helicopters to act swiftly in case of an emergency.