Shooting blanks: Frontier Constabulary holds ground in dire straits

Militants we fight have latest weapons says FC commandant

ISLAMABAD:

Ill-equipped, understaffed and dealing with waning morale in the trenches, the Pakistan Frontier Constabulary has asked the government to equip it with the latest weapons as soon as possible.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, FC commandant Liaquat Ali Khan said, “The militants we fight are equipped with the latest weapons and artillery.” He said the FC was Pakistan’s frontline against militants on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. “We appeal to the government to equip us with weapons.”

Earlier this year, the then FC commandant, Abdul Majeed Marwat, sent a three-year proposal to procure weapons to the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control. According to documents available with The Express Tribune, the equipment requested would cost Rs2 billion.



Khan said that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had forwarded their request to the ministry of finance and 50 per cent of the funds would be released soon. This is a positive step, he said. The equipment would be procured from Pakistan Ordnance Factories.

At present, there are 50 FC personnel to one bullet-proof jacket and ballistic helmet, a senior FC commandant told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity. Considering the conditions they are presently working in, the FC troops might just pack up and leave, he said. The FC also sent a wish-list of its requirements to the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control last year, but no action was taken on it.

According to the documents, the constabulary has requested 7,542 sub-machine guns (SMG), 496 heavy-machine guns (HMG), 704 rocket launchers and 50AA guns at a cost of Rs368 million. For ammunition, the force has asked for 3.5 million SMG rounds, 1.6 million HMG rounds, 10,920 RPG-7 shells and 612,000 rounds at a cost of Rs181 million.

The paramilitary force has requested around 7,000 bullet-proof jackets and 7,000 bullet-proof helmets that will cost around Rs716 million. They have also asked for 10 armoured personnel carriers, 150 large machine guns, 50 night vision device binoculars, 20 vehicle jammers and 10,000 MK-69 grenades at a cost of Rs249 million.

The documents say that at present, 26,163 FC personnel use 9,122 SMGs, 987 large machine guns, 850 Kalashnikovs, 536 ballistic helmets, 370 rocket launchers, 123 heavy machine guns, 536 bulletproof jackets and three vehicle jammers.

The FC commandant said 547 FC platoons worked in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 100 25,000-strong FC platoons were deployed at the border in K-P.

Around 80 FC platoons were deployed along the K-P’s periphery, 97 were attached with the army, 43 with various multinational companies, five were stationed at hydropower projects, 45 with Karachi police, 10 platoons were deployed in Gilgit-Baltistan, 48 platoons in Islamabad, 13 were attached with the Motorised Infantry Platoon, eight with the Motor Platoon, 25 platoons were undergoing training at Shabqadar and six platoons were on standby, he said.

The FC recruited around 5,000 personnel between 2011 and 2013. The government lifted the ban on fresh recruitments in FC earlier this year. He said the National Testing Service will conduct the recruitment process.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2014.