Watching the watchmen: Licences of 35 security agencies revoked
Home Department issued notices as they failed security standards.
LAHORE:
On Tuesday, the Punjab government revoked operational privileges for 35 private security agencies that failed to provide data on their board of directors, a summary of security guards, clients, sanctioned quota of weapons, security gadgets and a record of training imparted to staff.
Following escalating accounts of robberies in the cities and reports on several heists involving security guards, the Home Department had issued guidelines to all registered and unregistered security agencies to provide these details regarding the company.
The Home Department had also demanded information on the directors of the companies, security guards, summaries of their clients, description of their uniform, number of watchmen registered with the Employees Old Age Benefits Institution, social security, insurance companies, sanctioned quota of weapons, security gadgets and details regarding the training imparted to the security officials.
Out of a total 330 agencies, 35 security agencies failed to comply with the government’s directives and security standards.
The Home Department then issued notices to the owners of these agencies to submit the required details or their licences would be revoked. “Most of these agencies were bogus operations that pose a threat to the security situation,” a department official said.
Once the agencies failed to provide information within the deadline the Home Department revoked their licences and the No Objection Certificate of these agencies.
The home department has now directed the DCOs and DPOs to seal the offices of the agencies. The largest concentration of illegal agencies had been in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2011.
On Tuesday, the Punjab government revoked operational privileges for 35 private security agencies that failed to provide data on their board of directors, a summary of security guards, clients, sanctioned quota of weapons, security gadgets and a record of training imparted to staff.
Following escalating accounts of robberies in the cities and reports on several heists involving security guards, the Home Department had issued guidelines to all registered and unregistered security agencies to provide these details regarding the company.
The Home Department had also demanded information on the directors of the companies, security guards, summaries of their clients, description of their uniform, number of watchmen registered with the Employees Old Age Benefits Institution, social security, insurance companies, sanctioned quota of weapons, security gadgets and details regarding the training imparted to the security officials.
Out of a total 330 agencies, 35 security agencies failed to comply with the government’s directives and security standards.
The Home Department then issued notices to the owners of these agencies to submit the required details or their licences would be revoked. “Most of these agencies were bogus operations that pose a threat to the security situation,” a department official said.
Once the agencies failed to provide information within the deadline the Home Department revoked their licences and the No Objection Certificate of these agencies.
The home department has now directed the DCOs and DPOs to seal the offices of the agencies. The largest concentration of illegal agencies had been in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2011.