Pindi’s mine-detecting robot malfunctions

Civil Defence approves repair at Pak Army’s Air Weapon Complex

RAWALPINDI:

The computerised robot of a special mine detector vehicle, gifted to the government by a British special agency to defuse explosives, bombs and explosive devices, has become completely dysfunctional and awaits repairs.

Sources told The Express Tribune that one of the computerised arms of this advanced robot has completely malfunctioned, resulting in the robot being stored in a damaged condition for a year. The state-of-the-art robot could detect all types of explosives hidden underground and safely neutralise them besides taking control of any type of explosive device, including time bombs, and defuse them with its computerised system.

The British security agency gifted three such vehicles to Pakistan during General Pervez Musharraf's tenure in 2004. One of these vehicles was included in the Civil Defence Rawalpindi's bomb disposal squad. This advanced vehicle and robot were fully operational until 2022.

In 2023, the robot's arms malfunctioned and the district administration was hesitant to carry out the repairs due to the high estimated cost. Now, the Civil Defence Punjab has allowed to repair the robot to handle any unforeseen situation at the start of a new anti-terrorism operation.

The robot is being sent to the Pakistan Army's Air Weapon Complex in Haripur, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, for repair. It will be repaired within one and a half months and reactivated in the Bomb Disposal Squad. This robot has already shown excellent performance at various locations during the tenure of former President Musharraf. It successfully detected and defused explosives on VIP routes several times.

The malfunction of the robot has severely impacted the professional performance of the advanced bomb disposal vehicle, the sources maintained.