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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Useless devices

April 24, 2018

A recent ad in various newspapers by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has invited bid for the supply of handheld explosive detectors for the Quetta office. This is to point out that handheld devices don’t have the advanced technology that can detect explosives in less than 25 minutes. On this basis, such devices should not be used at security checkpoints. Back in 2016, the government faced criticism from the people when it was found out that the handheld bomb detectors that were used by security agencies and banks were bogus. The owners of the company that made those devices are serving prison sentences for fraud in the UK.

But there was no investigation or even notification to stop the usage of these bogus devices by security agencies in Pakistan. The airport security staff of the Peshawar and Islamabad airports were also recently using these fake bomb detectors at the security checkpoint. And now the SBP is considering using them. The relevant authorities are requested to put a ban on the use of such devices across the country. In addition, such devices should be referred to the Pakistan Engineering Council that would test the device to figure out its accuracy.

Engr Shahryar Khan Baseer

Peshawar