Tourism police to be launched in two weeks

In first phase, the force will be introduced in Murree, Kotli Sattian, according to official

RAWALPINDI:

With tourist season around the corner, the Rawalpindi police have announced the upcoming launch of Tourism Police after two weeks.

The idea to introduce tourism police came into consideration after the Murree tragedy on January 7 this year, in which many precious lives were lost.

SSP Operations Wasim Riaz Khan told The Express Tribune that the Murree tragedy not only took but also adversely affected the tourism sector of the province. Therefore, the Rawalpindi police had come up with the idea of setting up a special 'tourism police' to help the tourists in any extreme weather conditions.

“A plan has been devised to make the tourism police fully operational in the next two weeks,” he confirmed. To begin with, the force will be launched in two tourist areas of Murree and Kotli Sattian, and later will be launched in other tourist spots.

The police officers inducted into tourism police will be with SP Kohsar of Rawalpindi police. Tourism policemen will be trained to protect tourists during heavy snowfall, rain, landslides, forest fires, road closures and their evacuation to safer places. Special vehicles equipped to work in emergency situations have also been provided to them, for which Rawalpindi police have obtained the logistics.

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The official said that when the Rawalpindi police introduced the idea of the Tourism Police, the IG Punjab not only approved the idea but also pledged to provide all the resources. IG Punjab Police has already posted SP Kohsar in Murree on the orders of the previous government. The purpose of deploying a separate SP Kohsar was to make the police force stationed in Murree independent. The tragic Murree incident had resulted in a lot of damage due to delays in the delivery of aid from Rawalpindi or Islamabad.

The official said that at present, 200 personnel have been hired for Tourism Police and separate uniforms have also been prepared for them.

These policemen will be employees of the Punjab Police but they would work under the supervision of SP Kohsar.

The force has been trained in accordance with international standards, said Khan, adding that they are specialised in ensuring traffic flow in tourist areas. They are also trained to provide first aid to victims of any natural disaster, he shared.

The tourist police will be completely independent and will be kept free from all other policing tasks.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2022.