PESHAWAR: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Nasir Khan Durrani on Thursday announced compulsory swimming lessons for the provincial police force in order to prepare them for duty in flood-affected areas.

Speaking to journalists at a police Eid Milan party in Peshawar IGP Durrani said the police should be prepared to facilitate the masses in all respects. He said a request had been made to the Pakistan Navy to train the police force in this field.

The IGP said that police officers taking part in flood relief activities face difficulties because they are not able to swim. Durrani said that training would help the police work more efficiently in flood-affected areas.

Answering a question, Durrani said that the presence of Daesh or the self-styled Islamic State (IS) on the Afghan side of the border could not be ignored. He added that the police were trying to hinder foreign funding of terrorists.

At least 0.3 million people have been affected by floods in Chitral, while the Indus River inundated at least 150 villages in Layyah.

At least 14 were swept away in Balochistan's Shah Noorani and Sakran areas of Lasbela and Khuzdar as the region was hit by flash floods following heavy rainfall.

In the past week, at least six people have died in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and three in Rawalpindi due to heavy rains.

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