Ill-equipped, underpaid, FC may give up fight

Shortage of weapons lack of protective gear affecting morale.

ISLAMABAD:

In what could be a devastating blow to the country’s fight against militants, officials of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) on Thursday warned senators that a lack of funding, weapons and resulting low morale may force the paramilitary unit into “giving up the fight.”

In a shocking revelation during the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, FC commandant for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Abdul Majeed Khan said that the 26,172-strong 108 platoons of the FC deployed in the province had only 42 heavy machine guns.

“Our enemies are well-trained and equally well-equipped. The battle against militancy has become tougher for us than ever before,” said Khan.

During the briefing, the FC top brass also revealed that they are unable to fight against militancy in the province as the federal government has failed to equip the constabulary with new weapons since 2010. “The FC has not been able to buy a single gun due to a lack of funding,” added another official.

FC officials added that, as a result, morale amongst the soldiers, who largely belong to the tribal areas, had plummeted and some soldiers were refusing orders to undertake operations due to lack of weapons and protective gear.

Documents made available to The Express Tribune showed that FC requirements for its 520 operational platoons was 23,521 sub-machine guns, 1, 032 large machine guns, 1,094 heavy machine guns, 1,084 rocket launchers, 23,221 ballistic helmets, 23,221 bullet proof jackets, 123 vehicle jammers, and 27 armoured personnel carriers.

However, the ill-equipped FC was currently operating with just 8,000 sub-machine guns, 887 large machine guns, 42 heavy machine guns, 333 rocket launchers, 536 ballistic helmets, 536 bullet proof jackets and only 3 vehicle jammers.

During the briefing, Interior Secretary Siddiq Akbar informed the panel that scarcity of weapons was the reason why 18 FC platoons could not be deployed at the front. He informed the committee that only Rs1 million is paid as compensation for FC personnel who are killed in the line of duty, while Rs3 million is given in compensation to other police/security personnel.

“It is unfortunate that our enemy is better equipped than us,” observed Senator Col (retd) Tahir Mashhadi.

Decrying the difference in compensation, senators requested the committee chairman to highly recommend levelling the compensation ratio of FC personnel with other security personnel.

Khan informed the committee that financial requirements of the FC stood at Rs446.8 million for arms, Rs582.1 million for ammunition, Rs6.8 million for vehicle jammers, Rs1.93 billion for protective equipment and Rs330 million for armoured personnel carriers. Khan assured the committee that he would forward the request for release of funds to relevant ministries today, October 19.

Chairman of the standing committee Senator Talha Mehmood assured the FC officers that the ministries of interior and finance would be directed to ensure immediate release of funds.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2012.