PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Department has decided to launch its first batch of women police commandos to extend support to the force in extreme emergency situations, cases of terrorism and to check women’s involvement in crimes in any part of the province.

Similarly, the police department is also about to inaugurate its first special combatant unit (SCU) of 150 commandos to give backing to the police force in serious nature cases like different kinds of human disasters in the province.

This was disclosed by Inspector General of Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Nasir Khan Durrani in an exclusive interview with Dawn. He said that the role of women police in crime control could not be ignored, but they were not given due attention in past.

“We have for the first time established women facilitation desks in the police stations to help the female complainants,” he said. The IGP said that the 40-member group of women commandoes would prove helpful in combating terrorism, extremism and normal crimes.

IGP says Peshawar vulnerable from all sides

About the SCU, he said that the personnel, selected from the already existing Elite Force, had been trained on the pattern of Special Services Group of the army to meet challenges.

The special contingent trained as paratroops and in amphibious operations would be equipped with sophisticated weapons which will have at its disposal the quickest possible means of mobility, including a standby helicopter facility, so that it would be available for immediate movement.

“The force can be deployed in any part of the province for sting operations, interdictions, counter-terrorism operations, helicopter and airborne operations and amphibious operations both independently and in support of other police units or law enforcement agencies,” the IGP said.

He said that the cases pertaining to kidnapping for ransom and extortion were carried out by terrorists for raising funds as they had suffered heavily in the military operation ‘Zarb-i-Azb’.

“Tehreek-i-Taliban Mohmand (TTM) has set up headquarters far away on Afghanistan border and the entire process of criminal activities is carried out through Afghan SIMs,” he said, adding that the Khyber Agency-based militant group Lashkar-i-Islam was the main intruder in Peshawar, but police could not chase them in Fata. He hoped that the military operation would help control the crimes in the settled areas as well.

Owing to its geographical location, he said, Peshawar was very vulnerable from all sides where terrorists could easily enter and mix with the population to evade their arrest. He said that in the past there was no law to check the residents of any locality.

However, the incumbent provincial government in consultation with police had approved several laws, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hotel Restriction (security) Ordinance 2014, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rent Restriction (security) Ordinance 2014 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sensitive and Vulnerable Establishments and Places (security) Ordinance 2014, which will help overcome the crimes.

The first two laws are meant to check misuse of the hotels, buildings, houses and shops by obtaining complete data regarding the tenants and all those staying in the hotels. “The main issues were created since the arrival of Afghan nationals as there was no data regarding them which caused the lawlessness.” With the approval of these laws, he said, work on data compilation of the people had been in progress which also helped in checking of crimes.

Referring to the poor investigation process, Mr Durrani said that in the past there were only two training centres – at Kohat and Mansehra – which could not cater to the current needs, but now two new training schools, one each in Malakand and Swabi, were approved to build capacity of the force.

“It is our credit to open one school of investigation at Hayatabad, one school of intelligence in Abbottabad, and four new schools, including the school for explosives handling, school for traffic management, and school for public disorder & riot management, will soon be set up in KP,” he said.

The main reasons for many sabotage acts, he said, were the lack of checking of people at Torkham border, free roaming of non-custom paid vehicles, unchecked Afghans, and excessive use of Afghan SIMs.

The IGP said that SMS complaint system would be inaugurated after Muharram and above all the citizens could personally contact him through SMS anytime.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd , 2014