KARACHI: The Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, have decided to set up high checkpoints and watchtowers in residential areas, including the densely-populated Model Colony, around Karachi airport in the wake of the Tuesday night attack on a PIA aeroplane just before it landed at Peshawar airport, officials said on Wednesday.

The attack, which left a woman passenger dead and two others wounded, set alarm bells ringing in the provincial security administration that was still reeling from the June 8 deadly assault on Karachi airport.

Rangers Director General Major General Rizwan Akhtar on Wednesday visited Karachi airport and its surrounding areas to review security arrangements in the wake of the Peshawar incident that led to the decision to build high checkpoints and watchtowers.

A brief statement issued following his visit mentioned the localities where the paramilitary force has decided to enhance security by taking measures to ensure round-the-clock surveillance, as the densely-populated neighbourhood of Model Colony is so close to the airport that residents can easily watch planes landing and taking off.

“In the wake of the last night incident in Peshawar, the decision has been made to build high checkposts and towers in Model Colony neighbouring the airport and other areas around the facility,” said the Rangers statement.

It added that the DG Rangers approved the decision of building checkpoints and towers.

While the statement did not mention the number of such checkpoints and towers and their exact location, the spokesman for the paramilitary force said that it would be decided later.“The checkpoints will be manned by Rangers personnel,” he said.

The security administration sounded confident about the previous security measures which had been taken in the wake of the June 8 attack, officials whom Dawn spoke to agreed that the threat was not yet over and the recent move to enhance surveillance in the surrounding areas of the airport was essential to ensure smooth flight operation.

“The police presence and deployment has definitely been enhanced around Karachi airport after the attack,” said SSP Malir Rao Anwar. “The localities within the jurisdiction of the Airport police station are being patrolled by our police vans round the clock and permanent deployment has also been made on all the routes within our jurisdiction leading to the facility.”

The airport’s security inner cordon, which is solely manned by the Airports Security Force (ASF), is also said to have been enhanced. An official said the Peshawar incident led to a further increase the number of armed personnel deployed close to the runway.

“The ASF looks after security affairs and keeps coordination with the Civil Aviation Authority. The security had been enhanced after the attack on Karachi airport but definitely attacks in any other part of the country leads to more and better [security] measures,” said the CAA spokesman.

One passenger was killed while a steward and another passenger were wounded in firing at a PIA plane with more than 150 passengers from Riyadh before its landing at Peshawar airport on Tuesday night.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014