Security concerns: Passing-out parade of second CTF batch delayed

‘The ceremony scheduled for March 23 will likely be held in the first week of April’.

LAHORE:

The passing-out parade of the second batch of the Counter Terrorism Force (CTF) has been delayed due to security threats, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Requesting anonymity, a senior police official told The Express Tribune that 421 corporals had completed their training. “The passing out parade was scheduled to be held on March 23. However, it has been delayed,” he said. “The ceremony will now likely be held in the first week of April,” he said. He said the passing-out of the third batch of the CTF was expected to be held on August14.



Another police official said that 1,500 corporals had been recruited through the Punjab Public Service Commission. “A total of 822 have completed their training so far. The Counter-terrorism Department has been given Rs300 million to train the corporals,” he said.

He said that the corporals had been trained by 70 experts from Turkey and Elite Force trainers.

“They will be deployed at special police stations. These police stations are being established to deal with cases related to terrorism,” he said.

The official said that the special police stations were being built in Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Multan.

“These police stations will register FIRs in terrorism cases, interrogate suspects and follow suspects’ trials in courts. At each police station, a DSP and an SP will be posted,” he said.

Another senior police official said that the Counter Terrorism Department was gathering intelligence about high-profile terrorism suspects and banned organisations.

“The department would be able to obtain 30-days physical remand of suspects detained under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. The remand could be extended to 90 days in accordance with the new internal security policy. The policemen deputed at the special police stations will have different uniforms,” he said.

“The department will be provided modern equipment, weapons and training,” he said.



Another official from the department said the corporals would be divided into three categories. “Around 45 per cent of them will handle intelligence duties, 28 per cent operations and 26 per cent investigative work,” he said.

“The special police stations are being built on up to 17 kanals of land. They have three-storey buildings, 20 feet high and three feet thick walls, four watchtowers each, offices for SPs, DSPs and SHOs, barracks for 50 corporals, eight lock-ups and mess halls. All rooms and lock ups will be linked by computers and monitored by surveillance cameras,” he said.

“The Counter-Terrorism Department and the police have been monitoring 1,250 people listed in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2015.