LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has approved the induction of 11 senior retired army officers as the nucleus staff aimed at providing leadership to the proposed Punjab Anti-Terrorism Force.

The nucleus staff is also supposed to assist director general of the force in raising it, and running counter terrorism operations.

The force is being raised under directions by the prime minister who wants it as a stand alone outfit under the home minister who is the chief minister.

And the approval has come at a time when police are demanding that the force should be placed under the control of the IGP.

As many as 467 retired army officers have already applied for the posts advertised by the provincial home department on Dec 3, 2013.

According to sources on Thursday, the posts were advertised after a verbal approval by the chief minister. Now, a formal approval given by him had given a legal cover to the recruitments on a two-year contract.

The posts include one each principal training school (Brigadier), director operations (Colonel), additional director intelligence (Lt-Col), additional director special operations (Lt-Col), deputy director technical (Lt-Col), deputy director operations (Major), and four regional directors (Lt-Colonels).

The chief minister has also reportedly asked the home department to ensure lucrative salaries and emoluments for the nucleus staff.

Selection will shortly be made by a committee headed by the provincial chief secretary and comprising secretaries of the home and services department, IGP, Additional IGP of the Counter-terrorism Department, and two experts in the relevant fields.