SUKKUR: Several hundred policemen who have not undergone weapons training are being placed at different police stations, posted in the security detail of prominent political leaders and deployed for the security of rallies and public meetings in Sukkur district, it emerged on Sunday.

More than four hundred policemen were sent for six-month training at the Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Khairpur where they were supposed to learn how to use firearms. Instead, they were taught how to secure the parts of G-3 rifles, how to properly salute police officials and basic physical training exercises, said the trainee officers on the condition of anonymity. They also claimed that while they were at the centre they had heard that firearms for training did not reach Sukkur district hence they did not receive the essential training.

And after six months the poorly trained police officers were posted at various police stations and had to participate in operations against well-armed dacoits and deployed in raid teams, and the officers were often armed with weapons such as G-3 rifles, Kalashnikovs and pistols, which they did not know how to use, they said. Moreover, some of the weapons were defective, which could imperil their lives, the police officers added.

When Dawn spoke to SSP Sukkur Tanveer Hussain Tunio about the matter, he said: “Providing weapons training to policemen was the responsibility of RTC Khairpur. They need to be questioned why they did not do so. The weapons required during training were being provided by us.”

He added that those policemen who had not received firearms training were not included in raid teams. “I have issued directives through an order that weapons are not to be given to policemen who have not been trained in handling weapons and in the meantime they should be given assignments that do not require using firearms.” He also said that a batch of ten policemen each was being sent to the army for one-month training.

Dawn was unable to get through to the principal of RTC Khairpur to get his comments despite several attempts. However, Dawn was able to get in touch with his personal assistant, Atta Hussain Malah, who said that nearly 500 policemen from Sukkur had undergone six-month training from RTC Khairpur and in accordance with the directives of IGP Sindh they would be sending policemen to Sakrand training centre for commando and firearms training.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2015

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