First batch of new Rapid Response Unit graduates

IGP Yasin says they will be inducted into Islamabad Police ‘soon’

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Police will soon get a specialised force to tackle terrorist attacks as a Rapid Response Force (RRF) completed the first phase of its training.

The RRF batch included fresh police recruits who graduated on from the police academy in Islamabad on Tuesday in an elaborate passing-out parade. At least 155 regular police officials also graduated the same day.

The RRF batch consists of 22 women and 232 men. After completing their basic police training, the RRF personnel will now undergo specialised combat training where units from the army’s Special Services Group (SSG).



Once that training is complete, the force is expected to become operational sometime next year.

A police spokesperson said the RRF will exclusively be a counterterrorism force and will respond to such emergencies in the capital, a role currently being jointly handled by the police and Rangers.

The force is expected to be headed by its own SSP and will operate out of a separate building, expected to be set up near Police Lines.

However, the spokesperson said that many of these details, including who would head the unit, logistics such as equipment, were still being finalised. Asked about the vehicles this force would have, he said that some new vehicles would be procured to add to the existing Islamabad Police fleet.



However, the spokesperson did reveal that initially, the force would have a strength of 1,000 personnel – including a squad of snipers – while recruitment for its second batch would start soon.

Zero tolerance for crime

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who was the chief guest for the passing out parade on Tuesday, directed police to bring down the crime rate in the capital.

“I want crime rate at zero in the capital,”Nisar said while addressing the new recruits.

The interior minister, whose ministry oversees police in the capital, said that Islamabad Police had improved a lot in recent years but there was still space for further improvement.

Nisar asked the new recruits to serve the people and always uphold professional standards and the rule of law.

Talking about the RRF, he said that once fully trained, it would be capable of carrying out counter-terrorism operations.

“I am glad that in last three years appointments in police department have been made on merit and in a transparent manner,” he added.



Inspector General of Police Islamabad, Tariq Masood Yasin said that they had completed training of the group in a record time of just five months.

Later, while speaking to The Express Tribune, Yasin said that he did not have an exact timeline for when the force would be operational, but assured that it would be deployed soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2016.