Punjab-Specific: Nawaz wants anti-terror force at earliest

PM directed that the new force be raised under a command structure separate from that of the police force.

LAHORE:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday issued directions for fast-tracking the plan to raise a special counter-terrorism force in Punjab to combat extortionists, terrorists and hit men.

The prime minister directed that the new force be raised under a command structure separate from that of the police force and be ‘professionally sound, competent and adequately paid’. According to sources, however, personnel for the new force would be recruited from the police.

“A new force is needed to deliver in the right direction and help eliminate extortionists and target killers,” the release quoted the prime minister as saying.

“The state has the right to take pre-emptive steps to protect its citizens,” he said, hoping that the new force would help rid the province of the menace.

At the same time, he urged law enforcement agencies to show ‘zero tolerance towards heinous crimes’. “There is no concession for the law enforcing agencies who fail to impart their duties and tackle criminal activities,” he stressed.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2013.