Countering terror: Turkish police to help stamp out terrorism in Punjab

A counter-terror strategy will be formulated for the province.

LAHORE:

A three-member Turkish police delegation that arrived in the city on Tuesday, met with Punjab Inspector General Police Khan Baig at the city police office on Wednesday.

The delegation will train Punjab policemen in counter-terrorism and security measures.

The delegation is part of a programme for mutual cooperation between the Punjab and Turkish governments. A formal agreement in this regard will be signed in September this year.

The delegation comprises a senior deputy inspector general and superintendent officials. They have been given four rooms at the CPO and duty staff transferred from the police department. A working plan for the delegation was finalised at the meeting.

A senior police officer at the IGP told The Express Tribune that the families of the Turkish officials had arrived with them and arrangements for their residence and security had been completed. They will be looked after by the Police and Home Departments.

The IGP has also constituted a four-member committee comprising Additional Police Inspector General Muhammad Amlaish, Operations DIG Farooq Mazhar, Admin and Security AIG Sajjad Hasan Manjh and Traffic Headquarters Senior Superintendent Tariq Abbas Qureshi to assist the delegation. They will help the delegation in their operations and formulate security and counter-terrorism strategies. Admin AIG Sajjad hassan Manjh has been appointed the focal person for the Turkish police delegation and the Home Department.

The Turkish police officials will study the working procedures of the Punjab police, starting with complaint filing and investigation procedure, a senior police official at the IG office told The Express Tribune. He said that they would be provided logistic support.

The delegation will observe policing patterns across the Punjab and devise a strategy to fight terrorism in the province. They will also help improve the Punjab police’s capacity. The delegation has been tasked with preparing a plan for counter-terrorism within a year. They will visit Police Training Centres across the province and train Punjab Police officers and personnel.

“Their residences and names are being kept confidential by the Police Department for security reasons,” IGP DPR Nabeela Ghazanfar said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2013.