Forty years in service and hundreds of defused bombs later Abdul Haq faced the one that would take his life on Dec 12, 2013. The courageous bomb disposal unit (BDU) expert was just three months away from retirement.

Haq, in-charge of BDU’s Peshawar division, was accompanied by his driver Kashif and constables Aminul Haq and Imtiaz when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated on a roadside in Badhber. None of them survived.

After retirement Haq had planned to take his wife for Hajj, something they had been discussing for several years. Besides his widow, Haq is survived by four sons and four daughters and despite the hardships his family has faced with his limited income and hazardous work they are proud of their father’s sacrifice.

“My father always wanted to live with honour and die with pride,” Haq’s son Sharif Khan told Dawn.com outside the modestly constructed mud house where the family resides.

Hailing from Batkhela village in Malakand division, Abdul Haq was well-known for defusing hundreds of devices with his bare hands and experience as amongst his key tools.

His is the second grave loss faced by the BDU in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On Sept 28, 2012, [the BDU lost another seasoned member Hukam Khan][1] to its fight against terrorism. The brave bomb disposal unit (BDU) expert with a career spanning 33 years was honoured with the Sitara-i-Shujaat.

Sadly, however, not much has changed for the BDU in over a year since Hukam died. The rising death toll of staffers and lack of new recruits remains a major cause of concern for BDU officials. Of the 134 positions, 100 are vacant while the 34 staffers are severely underpaid, lack skilled training in the latest techniques and devices and most are equipped with just their limited skills and perhaps some wit against high intensity explosive devices.

“It won’t be an exaggeration if we called the BDU orphaned,” says BDU chief for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, AIG Shafqat Malik, adding that “we have lost almost everyone who was an expert on IEDs and home-made explosive devices.”

Paying tribute to the legends of the unit, Hukam Khan and Abdul Haq, Malik says: “They were the backbone of the BDU, and it is truly a great loss. We barely have people of their calibre left.”

Hukam Khan’s colleague Zarshaid Khan echoed Malik’s sentiments. “He was an expert in explosives, at identifying and neutralising booby traps, and a great mentor to others such as myself.”

Hukam’s death has not deterred his sons Akram, Adam and Bilal from their vow to fight against terrorism. Hukam’s eldest, Akram who is part of the police force, was trained by his father to diffuse bombs and Akram’s brothers now look up to him and aim to follow in his footsteps.

“We are ready to sacrifice what we must to rid our country of terrorism,” Akram told Dawn.com. But one is forced to think why these motivated and patriotic individuals lack the support and infrastructure the BDU also desperately needs.

Malik suggests that the unit be overhauled and a proper structure, for human resources as well as equipment, be put in place for the vital unit.

Presently, only seven of the 25 units part of the non-military Explosive Detecting Department have detection or sniffer dogs, explosive detectors, X-rays, scanners and six robots (vehicles). They are now also using new techniques to cause disturbances in the focal length and frequency of remote-controlled devices.

These measures have helped defuse 600 bombs in the last year alone, Malik says. However, not even one of these seven units is in Fata where it is arguably most required.

While there is some equipment in some units, its shortage in others is a matter that should be addressed without delay especially considering the volatile circumstances in the area.

New recruits and benefits

If the lack of equipment isn’t enough of a deterrent for new recruits, the depressing Rs50 danger allowance further discourages people from applying to the unit. According to Malik, the government is planning to increase the unit’s danger allowance to Rs5,000. However, without a proper structure in which BDU members are regularised, even this initiative may not attract quality recruits.

Malik suggests a “police department-like structure where danger allowance is added on to regular salaries in accordance to the personnel’s pay grade. He also recommends that an explosive forensic lab be constructed, especially in KP.

Latest trends in explosive devices

It isn’t just the law enforcement agencies who are trying to keep up with technology and have modified their war techniques, militants have also kept themselves abreast of the latest developments in warfare.

“The trend of disguising bombs in books and diaries surged in 2011 after which militants also started using landmines more frequently,” Malik explains. “They (the militants) did succeed for a while but our training helped us overcome this tactic as well.”

Authorities would do well not to drag their feet to meet the requirements and necessities of a crucial weapon in the country’s fight against terrorism. The consequence of failing to do the needful can be explosive.

—By Zahir Shah Sherazi

At the promising age of 25, Muhammad Akbar’s life took a terrifying turn after he sustained a bullet injury in the line of duty. Akbar is one of hundreds of police personnel injured while trying to rid Balochistan of terrorists and target killers.

Last December, a group of men opened fire killing a government officer near Quetta’s Taxi Stand area. Akbar, present at the scene, immediately responded. A brief gun battle ensued resulting in Akbar taking a bullet to his neck which severely damaged his cervical spine, leaving him permanently paralysed.

The once active police constable now cannot even wipe tears rolling down his face as he speaks about his predicament. “I just want to be healthy again,” he managed to murmur while lying motionless on his bed.

What made matters even worse was that the incident took place at a time when Akbar’s wedding preparations were in full swing. It has been a trying time for both the families but especially so for Akbar’s fiancée. Belonging to a strict Pashtun household, she isn’t able to share her pain or grief with anyone.

Akbar’s story is one of nearly 4,500 people (police, security personnel and civilians) in Balochistan who have been injured in terror-related activities over the last five years. The resource-rich province has, however, been embroiled in a battle against extremism for over a decade with a separatist insurgency also ongoing.

Over time, militants have adopted new modus operandi of using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with catastrophic results [See Table]. Improvised explosive devices are also used by the Afghan Taliban in southern Afghanistan’s volatile provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, with the latter sharing a border with Balochistan.

The IEDs are significantly more dangerous and cause greater damage than other tactics and devices used by militants such as suicide attacks, targeted killings, bomb blasts and rocket attacks which have also claimed hundreds of lives.

In an attempt to combat the growing security threat, the Police Training School near Quetta’s troubled Sariab Road area and the Anti-Terrorist Force’s training school at Quetta Garrison are working on new recruits. However, trainers continue to teach outdated methods and strategies leaving these young soldiers vulnerable against the current insurgency.

Looking at the sharp rise in terrorist attacks during 2013, the army stepped in and conducted training sessions for over 100 policemen, a little over a month ago.

There is no doubt these are particularly troubling times for police personnel especially in Balochistan. But authorities would do well to at least equip and train their security personnel against the evolving threat.

The government’s apathy towards militancy has led to a deep-rooted sense of deprivation and alienation among members of the police force who are largely left to fight rockets with sticks.

Earlier this year, Inspector General Balochistan Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera narrowly escaped a suicide attack. In two separate incidents, two superintendents of police and other senior officers were not as lucky when they were targeted. In another incident, the funeral of a police officer was attacked by a suicide blast that killed 30 members of the police force, including a DIG and an SP in August this year. At least 60 were injured in this attack.

At least 393 people (police, security personnel and civilians) were killed in terror-related activities in 2013. The death toll is significantly higher than the 178 killed in 2012 and 167 in 2011.

Brazen targeted killings have also damaged the morale of the police to the extent that they are now apprehensive to taking action against militants. They fear retribution and lack of support from authorities in case they are injured or killed. This sense of abandonment is compounded by the government’s ‘empty condemnations’ after every incident whereas police personnel and their families are mostly left to fend for themselves.

In Akbar’s case, the government announced a million rupees as compensation but the entire amount was deducted citing his hospital and medical bills which included a flight to Karachi for treatment. However, since then, there has been no financial aid to meet his medical needs.

“I thought I would be protecting people but I myself fell prey to terrorism,” said Akbar, who joined the force in 2009. His physical limitations aside, Akbar says the department’s neglect towards him and others in similar situations deeply troubles him.

“My department and my government forgot all about me and my broken family,” he said with facial expression filled with pain and disappointment.

Presently, Akbar receives his entire salary, Rs17,200, but his monthly expenses alone amount to Rs15,000 which includes two nurses hired to meet his daily medical needs. The family of nine is now solely dependent on Akbar’s brother, Abdul Mateen’s salary.

It is pertinent to mention here that during the previous government’s tenure, salaries for law enforcement agencies were raised by 100 per cent, making it somewhat manageable to keep up with rising inflation.

Mateen, also enrolled in the police force from the province’s Loralai district, was initially posted to help his injured brother but was later reassigned elsewhere.

Akbar’s elderly father, Mehrab Khan, is unable to take care of his paralysed son alone. “I am too old now and cannot attend to Akbar’s medical needs without assistance,” he said explaining how they had considered cutting down costs for nurses but decided it wasn’t a viable option.

The family is Rs300,000 in debt with interest compounding each month. What will we eat if we save to repay the loan, Mehrab said talking to Dawn.com.

Besides security personnel, thousands of civilians were injured over the last several years and their struggles also remain largely ignored. Perhaps authorities need to start fighting for its people especially those who can no longer fight for themselves.

—By Syed Ali Shah

Pushed and shoved by angry protesters while carrying an injured man towards his van, surviving two bomb blasts, being stopped at gunpoint to check his vehicle for weapons while transporting another injured person bleeding profusely are just some of Irfan Chaudhry’s experiences on the job.

An ambulance driver for the philanthropic Edhi Foundation for 23 years, Irfan often finds himself in situations most of us just watch on television.

Irfan, 45, is a second generation ambulance driver for Edhi. His father brought him into the profession at the age of 19 and today Irfan heads the Buffer Zone station, one of the foundation’s 83 stations in the city. [See Table]

Irfan’s father worked at Edhi until he passed away a few years back. “I remember how he would often come home in blood soaked clothes,” Irfan said. “I would clean his boots while my mother would wash his clothes as we quietly breathed a sigh of relief that he made it home alive… day after day.”

He recalls how his mother would complain about his father’s job, “…and now she complains about mine…” But he understands her concern. “It is never easy when you lose one of your co-workers,” which he says, “continues to be the most difficult part of the profession”.

When asked what kind of training ambulance drivers at Edhi are given before being sent out on the ethnically divided and occasionally violent streets of Karachi, Irfan’s serious expression breaks into a soft smile. “How does one train or get trained to speak to gun-toting men?” he asks rhetorically. Most of what our job entails we learn based on our observations and rely on our instincts, he adds.

For instance, after a spate of bomb blasts in 2010, most of them targeting religious processions and sites, drivers were instructed to stay alert and not immediately go in for the injured after a blast. Experience has taught us that a second blast almost always follows, he says. “But not many follow those instructions and they have good reason not to,” he adds ruefully, then proudly points to his bright red jacket with ‘Edhi’ written in block letters.

“Edhi sahib taught us that our job is nothing without compassion. In fact, that’s all he ever taught us.”

“It is this (jacket) that saves us each time, it is the reason we are respected,” Irfan says. But not everyone has been so lucky. Over the last decade, eight Edhi staffers have been killed in various bomb and other targeted attacks in Karachi.

One of the ‘most brutal murders’, in Edhi spokesman Anwar Kazmi’s opinion, was of one of their ambulance drivers in 2007. “It was during the rioting on May 12 and our driver Faizur Rehman was taking an injured person from Shahrah-i-Faisal when armed men fired straight at the ambulance. “They were after the injured man he was transporting to the hospital and they ended up killing Faiz along with him.” About 50 bullet casings were found near the ambulance.

Apart from Edhi Foundation, there are seven other ambulance services operational in the city. One of them belongs to the Aman Foundation.

When asked how their drivers are trained to deal with terror-related situations, Chief Executive Officer for Aman Foundation Dr Junaid Razzak said: “No matter what they have been taught during training sessions it just comes down to the reality that at times the worker’s life is more important.”

It is for the safety and security of their personnel that Razzak says they have instructed drivers not to go along with processions rather drive on the sides, if they can manage.

“The drivers can come under direct attack making our service (to save lives) useless,” Razzak explains.

There have been instances when Aman’s drivers have been attacked by an angry mob while attending the injured at a bomb site, he adds.

A similar incident took place at the Abbas Town blast in March 2013. As one of the drivers was attending to the victims, an armed man also got into the ambulance. The man started getting violent when the driver asked him to leave and shot straight at the ambulance. “Our driver was safe but it does get difficult when you think what could have happened,” Razzak says.

In January 2013, one of Edhi’s drivers was killed in a bomb attack in Quetta's Hazara Market. “There was a bomb planted in an ambulance van which was parked nearby. Our drivers also parked their vehicles in the same area; when the bomb exploded, it instantly killed everyone in its proximity,” Kazmi said.

If an Edhi staffer is killed on duty then their family is compensated Rs200,000. The foundation also ensures the government pays the family any compensation amount they announce. Thus far, Aman Foundation has not suffered any casualties. However, it has taken out life insurance policies on its staffers whose families are given 21 salaries as a one-time compensation in the event of their death. Injured staffers who are still able to work are reassigned to desk duty.

“Recently, one of our ambulance drivers lost an eye in an attack so once he recovered we put him on the front desk,” Razzak says. This is not a magnanimous gesture, he clarifies, but rather a show of appreciation for staffers who dare to do their jobs despite daunting odds.

Another sizeable ambulance service is the Chippa Welfare Association. This year, Chippa lost one of its drivers in a shootout in Lyari’s Agra Taj Colony. Being a welfare organisation, the most the Chippa spokesman says it can do for the families of the killed or injured is to continue to pay the staffer’s salary and take care of the children’s education expenses for life.

Irfan is adamant that he doesn’t want the same life for his children. “They should do something regular (and not as dangerous),” he says. “This job can really take its toll on you.”

Irfan's salary for the long hours, uncertain lifestyle, deprivation of sleep and gruesome incidents he must experience: Rs10,000 a month. In fact, between Rs10,000 to Rs18,000 is the industry benchmark for ambulance drivers who put their lives on the line in a race against time to save the lives of people who they mostly do not even know.

But it isn’t the modest salary that deters Irfan from sincerely performing his duties. What particularly disturbs him is when paramilitary troops conduct searches on their ambulances. Irfan was still new on the job in the 1990s when clashes between the Urdu-speaking and Pashtun communities were escalating.

A group of Edhi staffers were sent to Afghan Basti near Al Asif Square, Sohrab Goth, to transfer patients but on arriving at the scene the drivers were held up by paramilitary troops. “I waited helplessly as they thoroughly searched the vehicle from the inside; meanwhile, the injured man I had picked from there was writhing in pain. But I was told they were doing their job,” he adds in a matter-of-fact tone.

It is important to mention here that ambulances have been used as convenient disguises for bombs. Additionally, there were also reports of vehicles looking like ambulances which were used to transport weapons across the city, thus the reason for paramilitary troops searching ambulances is not entirely unfounded. Razzak suggests that paramilitary troops and ambulances create smoother coordination in order to increase efficiency while not compromising safety.

Qualifications

Edhi ambulance drivers are required to have at least passed the eight grade while paramedics must have cleared their Matriculation in Science. Others such as Chippa require a matriculation or intermediate qualification. Age bracket for drivers is 19 to 50 years.

Life-saving equipment

The basic purpose is to transport the injured to a hospital as soon as possible, Kazmi says. Most ambulances are simply furnished with stretchers and oxygen tanks. Aman ambulances are significantly more equipped with 40 among their fleet equipped with advance life support machines.

New recruits

Irfan has already been given a list of young recruits joining for 2014. Most of them will be mentored by Irfan only. When asked what is the most important lesson he wants the young drivers to learn, Irfan says smiling: “I’ll ask them to be proud of the cheap cars that they have to help people. There are many people with beautiful and luxurious cars in the city who wouldn’t stop for another if they found them dying on the roadside. We do what they don’t, so be very proud of the work that we do.”

—By Saher Baloch