PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Navy is to train the Special Combat Unit (SCU) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police in water-related rescue operations to help the people during floods and other emergencies, officials told The News. A batch of 52 commandoes of the SCU, which was said to have been raised on the pattern of the US Marines, was recently sent to Karachi to receive training from the experts of Pakistan Navy. “The six-week training by the Pakistan Navy include diving, water-related rescue operations, first-aid in water-related emergencies, swimming, boating and other skills,” Deputy Commandant of the Elite Police Force Syed Fida Hassan Shah told The News. The senior officers of the Elite Police Force recently visited the headquarters of Pakistan Navy in Karachi to arrange the specialised training for the special commandoes of the KP Police. Another batch of 64 commandoes completed heliborne training. “During the training, the commandos were trained how to jump from helicopters to act swiftly in case of any extraordinary emergency,” added Fida Hassan Shah, who is also Assistant Inspector General Establishment of the KP Police. The 150-men strong SCU unit is part of the Elite Police Force. It would act only in extraordinary situations anywhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The unit will mostly remain in Peshawar and will be transported via helicopters if needed even to Dera Ismail Khan or anywhere in Hazara or Malakand divisions. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police authorities last year decided to raise SCU on the pattern of the US Marines and the Zarrar Company of the Special Services Group (SSG) of the Pakistan Army to deal with any extraordinary situation. The special force was imparted commando training after its members were selected from the Elite Force on merit. Almost all the members of the SCU volunteered to be part of the exclusive force that is to respond in extraordinary situations such as hostage taking, kidnapping, suicide mission or a major attack in any part of the province. An official of the KP Police said that the SCU would remain on standby and would be activated immediately in case of any major terrorist attack.The force will be provided special weapons, security kits, vehicles and all the required resources.The police force has recommended special salaries and incentives for the members of the proposed force that is likely to start functioning soon.
