Reviewing security: Proposal seeks US guards for president

Govt considering foreign guards for dignitaries in wake of Taseer’s murder.

ISLAMABAD: In the backdrop of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer’s murder by his own police guard, a proposal is under consideration that will bring in special security guards from the United States for President Asif Ali Zardari, according to highly-placed sources.

While the security of President Zardari has always been cause of serious concern for the authorities, a larger proposal is also under consideration by the government to hire the services of foreign security guards for a number of VVIPs including the prime minister, provincial governors, chief ministers, and a few federal ministers, the source told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity.

The proposals come as a part of the government’s decision to review security arrangements of important personalities following the shocking assassination of Taseer, which validated fears that religious extremism had penetrated the ranks of security forces in Pakistan. “An overhaul in the present security  system has been recommended as an essential requirement by the authorities responsible for the safety and well-being of the VVIPs,” the source claimed.

On a number of occasions, the president himself has been quoted to have said in the presence of US diplomats and officials that his life was in danger. He has also been quoted to have instructed his son, Bilawal, the chairman of the party, to name his sister Faryal Talpur as the president in case he was killed.

The fear about the presence of extremist ideology in the forces has long been around. It surfaced a few years ago when the involvement of personnel of the Pakistan Air Force and Army in two unsuccessful attempts on the life of the then president Gen. Pervez Musharraf came to light.

Then, a young major who had joined the Taliban in the past year after resigning from Pakistan Army was interrogated by security agencies for his alleged links with Faisal Shahzad, the man who plotted last year’s unsuccessful Times Square bombing.

Meanwhile, the police department in Islamabad has collected detailed data of its personnel after the assassination of Taseer in Islamabad. The data includes the religious leanings of its personnel and also their family background in terms of affiliations with religious organisations.

Authorities plan to ultimately purge the department of suspect elements. In this regard, it is learnt that a few police personnel have already been removed from the security set-up.

Such data collection is also being recommended for the police departments of other provinces.

At present, an army unit, the infamous 111 Brigade, is deployed at the Presidency for the security of the president, while police guards are deployed around the four boundary walls of the Aiwan-e-Sadr. However, President Zardari has engaged many private guards from Sindh for his personal security – reflecting a distrust of government-provided security arrangements. There is now a proposal to install US security guards in the inner-most security cordon, the source said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2011.