Scanner at Rawat ineffective, just for show

4,000 trucks scanned since June 2010 but no explosives found, Malik tells NA.

ISLAMABAD:

The scanner installed at the Rawat Toll Plaza has not detected any suspicious vehicle despite inspecting over 4,000 trucks since June 2010.

This was disclosed by Interior Minister Rehman Malik in a written reply submitted to the National Assembly on Friday.

The minister said that the scanner has remained ineffective. He added that that the scanner installed in Golra had been shifted to Karachi, where it later developed a technical fault. However, its overall performance is “satisfactory”.

The two scanners, purchased on a soft loan from China in 2009, were installed at Golra and Rawat in April 2010. However, they were removed the next day, as the first performance of the detectors raised more questions than it answered, stirring debate within the ranks of the government and police authorities about their efficacy. They were reinstalled after two months.

A number of police officials believe that the scanners are not explosive detectors but merely cargo scanners that can detect only a few types of explosives, that too in large quantities.

According to previous reports published in The Express Tribune, each scanner cost around Rs25 billion, excluding customs and installation charges. Also, according to officials, the time that it takes to scan makes it impossible for them to scan all vehicles entering Islamabad.

Some officials had alleged that the government “seemed adamant” in importing the scanners, even though there were better alternatives available that can detect explosives at a distance of 500 yards.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2012.