KARACHI: Test confirms genuineness of bulletproof jackets
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, July 22: The test made on bulletproof jackets imported from South Africa by Sana International was found to be successful and met the standard.
This was stated in the report submitted by the Nazir of the Sindh High Court to Justice Shabbir Ahmed on Monday.
The report is based on the findings of the experts of A. W. Van Niekerk General Manager of Ballistic Body Armour (Pvt) Ltd, South Africa, and Lt-Col for Chief of Staff, Headquarters 5th Corps Karachi.
According to the Nazir, four jackets were selected by the representative of the plaintiff (M/s Sana International) out of the entire lot of 600 bulletproof jackets which were brought on the site for test. The test made on four bullet- proof jackets was found to be successful, the Nazir said in his report.
The report of the 5th Corps said “keeping in view the parameters, requirements and specifications the subject jacket meet the standard. However, jackets demanded by the police department are having only front plate whereas the nature of employment and optimum utilization of the subject jackets demand that it must also have a rear ceramic plate to guard against the rear side which is vulnerable without plate.”
“In view of the above facts the jacket is recommended to be inducted in police force. The jacket has the provision for rear ceramic plate. The police should, therefore, negotiate with the suppliers for provision of the same,” the 5th Corps report said.
It has been suggested in the report that the police department should work out requirements/parameters before placing orders/assigning contracts to the companies.
The required test was conducted in the ground of Police Training College, Saeedabad, Karachi, in the presence of (i) Abbas Ali Additional IG Sindh, Karachi (ii) Akhtar Husain DIG (iii) Lt-Col Muhammad Aamir Khan, Headquarters 5th Corps, Karachi, (iv) Rasool Bux Saand AIG (v) Shah Nawaz Tariq, Deputy Secretary, Home Department, Government of Sindh, (vi) Anwar Subhani, Inspector (Legal) CPO Sindh, (vii) Naeem Khalid representing M/s Sana International and (viii) Andre Van Niekerk, General Manager Technical, Boxy Armour, South Africa.
M/s Sana International was represented in the court by Rashid A. Rizvi, advocate.
On June 12 Justice Wahid Bux Brohi had directed the official assignee of the Sindh High Court to undertake separate tests of bulletproof jackets, imported from South Africa on the order of the Sindh police, by experts separately from police, army experts drawn from the 5th Corps Karachi and foreign experts, as suggested by the plaintiff.
The order was given when the application of M/s Sana International Vs the IG in a suit came up for consideration. The plaintiff is a supplier of bullet- proof jackets to the Pakistan Army and Sindh rangers also. The contract with police envisaged import of jackets from South Africa.
Asad Ashraf Malik, Additional IG Sindh, submitted that an inquiry by army expert from the 5th Corps would be sufficient to verify police’s claims.
Police had contended that, according to clause 7 of the contract, the consignment was tested and rejected by a duly-constituted Inspection Committee of very senior police officers who were fully competent to assess the suitability of the product.
Police were opposed to outside intervention or presence, and had contended that experts quoted by the plaintiff were employees/stakeholders of their principals and as such would be prejudiced. Though police considered its inspection committee fully competent for the test, they had conceded that if the court so desired, the test could be conducted in the presence of an army officer, nominated by the HQ 5th Corps, as a last resort.
According to the facts of the case, police had invited tender for the purchase of 1,600 bulletproof jackets. The plaintiff was one of the bidders, whose samples were examined along with those of others and were finally approved.
A local firm, M/s Lyra Shoe Company (pvt) Ltd, had filed an application as one of the defendants to the suit, claiming to be the lowest bidder in the bidding held on March 15 for the purchase of 1,600 bulletproof jackets by the Sindh police for a total amount of Rs59,976,000.
The intervener claimed that the jacket had passed the NIJ standards when the same was subjected to ballistic tests at the Pakistan Army’s Inspectorate of Armaments in Rawalpindi. The intervener had also supplied jackets to the Pakistan Navy and the Sindh rangers.
