Bomb Disposal Squad: Employees not given risk allowance, insurance

BDS chief says his team is defusing improvised explosive devices without jammers.

PESHAWAR:

Despite the increasing number of remote-controlled bomb blasts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), the Bomb Disposal Squad does not have radio frequency (RF) and global system for mobile (GSM) jammers in 25 districts of the province.

Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Special Branch Shafqat Malik, who heads the squad, said that at least 60 jammers possessing both RF and GSM technology are needed for his force  He said the BDS has asked for the equipment several times, but their demands have been ignored.

“I have a workforce of more than 70 trained personnel in 25 districts of the province, but essential equipment is not available,” he said, adding that it was their commitment that their staff have never declined to perform their duties.

Malik added that BDS personnel in Islamabad and Sindh were paid a 60% risk allowance as part of their salaries, but there are no such allowances for workers in K-P.

“These men are fighting the war on the frontline as compared to their counterparts in Islamabad or other provinces, but no one gives them risk allowance or insurance.”

He said he has recommended that monetary rewards be given for defusing an IED in order to compensate affected families, but funds have not been provided so far.

Malik added that the BDS had defused 1,200 bombs across the province this year, including more than 250 in Peshawar. This number is higher than in any other part of the country, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2012.