ISLAMABAD: The capital police have requested the Prime Minister’s Office to conduct vetting of personnel guarding the premier and the Prime Minister’s House.

Besides, the police also started a vetting process of police guards provided to federal ministers. The security office of the premier was approached by the capital police and informed that screening of guards had already been done six months ago, the officials said, adding police asked them to conduct it again due to the prevailing situation. The chief security officer of the PM’s office is responsible for conducting screening of guards.

Guards deployed with ministers will also be screened. In the first phase, the vetting process of 35 police officials guarding ministers is being conducted.

“We are hopeful that the vetting of the 35 officials will be completed within a week or two,” the officials said.

Services of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and district police from the native towns of the officials being screened have been sought.

In the vetting process, an official’s religious beliefs, opinions, stance on other nations, ideologies along with perception about others is scrutinised. Officially, a minister is entitled to three police guards but recently the interior minister asked police to increase the number of guards deployed with the ministers and their official residences at Ministers’ Enclave.

The minister was of the view that the number of guards deployed at the official residences of ministers was not enough and he had also asked for young, smart and active police guards. But due to unavailability, police officials above the age of 45 are included in the team guarding them.

“Some days ago, police guards deployed at the official residence of the interior minister disappeared. After their disappearance came into the notice of the minister, he complained to the police chief of Islamabad and issued directions to suspend all of them,” the officials said, adding police guards deployed at foreign missions located outside Diplomatic Enclave will also be screened soon. There are 44 foreign missions outside the Diplomatic Enclave out of which 20 are being guarded by police and 24 by the Frontier Constabulary.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, when contacted, told Dawn that he had same police guards from the first day. Being the interior minister, police are under his supervision, he said, adding there is no vetting of police guards, he added.

But, if it is a process of police to vet the police guards and the police are doing it, it is not in his knowledge, Mr Rashid said.

Replying to questions about demand for more police guards and disappearance of the guards from his official residence, the minister said he had two guards deployed at the residence.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) Afzaal Ahmed Kausar told Dawn that vetting of police guards deployed with VVIPs, VIPs and other influential personalities was a routine matter and had nothing to do with the TLP.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2021