Rapid Response Force for twin cities next week

.<br /> The RRF is supposed to have a response time of eight to 10 minutes.

ISLAMABAD:

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Friday that the Rapid Response Force (RRF) will become operational in the twin-cities next week as part of the government’s counter-terrorism effort.

Initially, the proposal to raise RRF units, which were supposed to include paramilitary Rangers and police, was floated as early as August 2013 – but it failed to materialise despite requests from the Islamabad police in December for assistance from Rangers in securing the capital.

While chairing a high-level meeting with Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration and police officials, the minister said that the RRF will perform round-the-clock patrolling not just in Islamabad but also in Rawalpindi, where it will be assisted by the Punjab police.

The meeting was held to review the security situation after Sikh protesters entered the Parliament House grounds exposing chinks in Islamabad’s security armour.

The RRF is supposed to have a response time of eight to 10 minutes, according to interior ministry officials. In the recent terrorist attacks – suicide attack on the Islamabad district courts and bombing at the capital’s fruits and vegetable market – the police had failed to respond within 10 minutes.

In the absence of patrolling support from the Rangers, the Islamabad police are being supported by 186 elite commandos from the Punjab Police. The two law-enforcement agencies are conducting joint patrols.

Police in the twin cities have been put on high alert after the military started bombing of militant hideouts in North Waziristan Agency. There are also reports that the Islamabad police have followed directions from the centre to seek assistance of the 111 Brigade of the Army for Islamabad’s security. But police officials refused to comment on the reports.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2014.