KARACHI: Uncertainty and insecurity promotes the business of the private security companies, currently busy in hiring and expanding their operations to more towns across the country.

Elections 2008 are being held in an environment marred by heightened sense of insecurity. The suicide bombers rock the country’s peace at their whim and war like situation in north of Pakistan has shattered the confidence of the people.

The situation of general law order situation is hardly any better. It does need special survey to find out the real law order situation in the major cities like Karachi. Every street of this mega city is under the surveillance of private security guards reflecting the deteriorating law and order situation.

Private security companies say their business is fast growing in other cities like Karachi and Lahore. This must be surprising for the tax payers who pay billions to get the security of Police and other government agencies but nobody made any serious effort to look into this situation despite five years tenure of elected government.

The elections 2008 has further aggravated the already prevailing insecurity as it added high degree of uncertainty in the situation filled with suicide bombing and targeted killings. The elections related uncertainty reached at peak when Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister and leader of Pakistan Peoples Party was killed on 27 December 2007. Private Security companies’ owners said it was worst that Benazir Bhutto was killed in the presence of thousands of people and the killer could not be identified. They said it gave message that nobody is safe even in the daylight and in the presence of thousands of people. It again demands more private security guards for the protection of life and properties.

The killing of Benazir Bhutto simply heightened the insecurity especially among the political figures who fear attack on their lives from unknown enemies. The private security companies said the series of attacks on other political parties have forced the political figures to spend more money to protect their lives.

Political leaders have been hiring private security guards at their houses and for their movement from one place to another place.

“No political party has acquired our services at collective level but political leaders have acquired our services at individual level,” said Chairman All Pakistan Security Agencies Association Colonel (retired) Nisar Khara.

The private security companies said their business has gone up and are unable to meet the high demand but they said it was not because of elections or politicians who hired their services.

They don’t keep the data or don’t want to share information which can show that how much political figures have acquired private security guards.

“We know that political figures have hired security guards at their houses and for personal protection but we don’t know the total number of guards especially engaged for this purpose,” he said. He also said that hiring of guards by politicians did not produce significant growth in their over all business.

The number of private security companies rose 181 and the total manpower reached about 50,000 alone in Karachi. The companies said Lahore was another fast growing area for their business 80 companies have been established their.

Politicians are hiring private security guards all over the country which must be in thousands but the owners of the companies said it was difficult to assess the numbers. They must be spending millions to get protection through the private security guards. This is in addition to other security measures which most of the politicians have adopted. The top leaders of all most all parties have their own gunmen. This is common in both rural and urban set up and is a regular spending on security.

“Our services are mostly in the urban areas and even we don’t provide guards for the intra-city movement,” said vice Chairman of the Association retried Colonel Tauqeer-ul-Islam.

He said it was extremely difficult to get permission for intra-city movement of armed guards with anyone including the politicians.

Private security companies said most of the top politicians have restricted their movement despite the fact that the pre-elections activities are coming to an end. When they don’t move they keep guards only at their houses. When they move they hire privates guards for a day or two or sometimes for few hours.

The companies said that they provided services on monthly basis, daily basis and hourly basis. Elections related demands are mostly hourly basis and daily basis.

The Chairman said that these days factories are hiring more private security guards to protect their assets.

Colonel Tauqeer said the demand was so high that the securities companies were not finding fit persons to higher as guards. Earlier, most of the ex-army men were coming from Punjab but now they stopped coming to Karachi.

“Demand for private security guards have increased in Punjab and number of new companies started establishing their business. It is easy for the Punjab people to remain close to their houses so they prefer to join private security companies established in Punjab,” he said.

The least requirement is in Peshawar where the number of security agencies is less than 10 in numbers and Peshawar is the only city in NWFP where private security firms have business. Other parts of the province is free from the security concerns or being provided enough security by the police and other agencies to protect their life and properties. — Shahid Iqbal