Special Security Unit activated to protect foreigners

PESHAWAR: The Special Security Unit (SSU) that remained dormant for over two years has been activated to provide security to the foreigners working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and various other projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, The News has learnt.

The force will have a special uniform, different from the regular police, and perform duty to ensure security to the Chinese working on CPEC and foreigners working on various other projects. The force was launched in 2019.

KP Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari had last month directed the officials to make the force active to ensure security to Chinese and other foreigners in the province. "The SSU has been made active recently after designing a special logo for the force. The force will get a special uniform, making it different from the regular police," said an official.

He added the Commandant Elite Force Karim Khan and AIG Coordination Arif Shahbaz have been tasked to properly launch the SSU. The total strength of the unit is 2,200 out of which 1,200 personnel have been imparted specialized training while the rest are to undergo training soon. It was learnt that the government was yet to provide vehicles to the force in the second phase which were needed to ensure security on the highways in Hazara and other areas of the province.

A large number of Chinese engineers and other staff members are working on the CPEC and several projects in the Hazara division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of the country. Security of foreigners has already been upgraded in Hazara and the rest of the province and the country in the last few weeks.

All foreigners, especially Chinese nationals, were issued security advisory while police were directed to check if there are any loopholes in security in their respective areas. The cops were directed to check the CCTVs and other measures taken for security in the area.

Nine Chinese and four locals were killed when their bus plunged into a ravine in Dasu, Upper Kohistan district after an explosion on July 14. Security officials paid several visits to the site of the incident in connection with investigations and address the security concerns of the foreigners working in the area.

An official said that police had launched detailed security procedures and ensured that all foreign nationals felt secure in KP and Pakistan. "We are constantly reviewing the man-management so that non-operational duties are minimized and the police force is used for providing a general security umbrella to locals and foreigners rather than for ceremonial duties," said the official.

Security for various sensitive buildings and establishments has also been upgraded and cops alerted across KP to maintain law and order.