ISLAMABAD, Dec 17: A decision had been taken to establish a new department for the security of President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali, Interior Minister Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat told Dawn on Wednesday.

“Although both the president and prime minister have their own security squads, we are now institutionalizing them to make a permanent department to exclusively look after their respective security,” the minister said.

Mr Hayat said that such departments already existed in many countries for the security of top government leaders. “The US president has his own security department. Similarly, special security departments have been set up for the Indian prime minister and other heads of the states.”

The interior minister said the decision regarding the establishment of the new security department was made in view of the recent Rawalpindi bomb blast in which the convoy of the president narrowly escaped.

Giving details about the proposed department, he said trained commandos of both the army and civil law enforcement agencies would be inducted in the new department.

The interior minister said the code of security of the president and the prime minister was being updated to bring it in line with the demands of the modern age.

He said staff of the new security department would be equipped with sophisticated weapons, bomb and explosive material detectors, cameras, etc.

In reply to a question, he ruled out the possibility of hiring foreign security agencies for the security of the president and prime minister, saying that Pakistani agencies were highly trained and capable of ensuring protection to the country’s leaders.

Speaking about the forthcoming Saarc summit, he said the government would utilise its best resources to ensure security during the summit scheduled to be held in the first week of January.