Rs100m explosive scanners ‘unimpressive’

Inspector General of Police Syed Kaleem Imam has termed the two explosive scanners worth Rs100 million as "ineffective".

Inspector General of Police Syed Kaleem Imam has termed the two explosive scanners worth Rs100 million recently imported from China “ineffective” and “unimpressive” to counter suicide attacks in the country.

He said this during a meeting of the Senate standing committee on interior, under the chairmanship of Senator Talha Mehmood held on Thursday at Parliament House.

Imam said that the scanners cannot meet the requirement of the law-enforcement agencies that are active against terrorists in the country.

He said: “The scanners are used for cargo clearance and they have nothing to do with explosive detection.” He said he had also conveyed his reservations about the scanners to the ministry of interior, telling it not to rely on the equipment for making the security measures foolproof.

Senator Talha Mehmood, chairman of the committee, also rejected the presentation on the scanners given by the National Police Bureau (NPB).  He said that millions of rupees have been wasted as the ineffective and irrelevant scanners have been purchased in the name of security.

He said that his committee will take to the task all those responsible for the purchase of ineffective scanners. Mehmood demanded the statements of NPB officials on affidavit who tried to justify the scanners.

He said that two per cent loan interest was also unjustified since in Europe banks are offering loans on 0.75 per cent interest, adding “it was not a good deal.”

He said that he will fix responsibility and strict action will be taken against those responsible for sealing the deal. He also said that the scanners have been purchased without open tender.

Senator Sardar Jamal Leghari expressed concern over radiation the scanners will emit once they go operational. He said the general public will be at risk during the inspection of suspected vehicles.

However, NBP officials said that Standard Operating Proce-dures (SOP) of the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) are being followed and the authority has given provisional permission to operate the scanners at approved places.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2010.