Police patrols: Vans of commandoes on the streets

ISLAMABAD:

Urged on by the interior ministry and public pressure, the Islamabad police started joint patrols of the capital’s streets on Saturday, with elite commandoes from the Punjab Police providing backup.

According to police, eight patrol vans have officially started the joint patrol. Each van has five elite commandoes, two Anti-Terrorist Squad personnel and one policeman from the local Islamabad police station.

In the wake of the deadly Sabzi Mandi attack in Islamabad, a contingent of 186 elite commandoes from the Punjab Police —- requested by the Islamabad police —- arrived in Islamabad on April 12 to bolster security arrangements.

The police said they have also established nine police pickets on the border areas of the capital to ensure tight security.

Islamabad has suffered two brutal terrorist attacks in two months. The first, a gun-and-suicide attack on the district courts in Sector F-8 in March, killed 12 people, while the second, a bomb blast in Sabzi Mandi on April 9, claimed 25 lives.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2014.