Protecting foreigners: Special police unit to be functional by June 30
Rs1.2 billion has been provided for purchasing weapons, equipment for the SPU.
Specialised Protection Unit formed to protect foreigners. PHOTO: ONLINE
LAHORE:
The Specialised Protection Unit (SPU) of the Punjab Police, formed to protect foreigners in the province, is expected to be fully functional by June 30, SPU SSP Gohar Nafees has told The Express Tribune.
“The government decided to establish the SPU unit to protect foreigners, especially Chinese nationals working on various development projects,” he said.
“Currently, 267 SPU personnel are deployed at Nandipur Power Plant, 66 at Iron Ore Plant Chiniot, 59 at Jinnah Barrage near Mianwali and 120 at Quaid-i-Azam Solar Plant, Bahawalpur,” said Nafees.
He said the SPU headquarters was being established at Farooqabad Police Lines and would be operational soon.
“The SPU will be headed by a DIG and have two SSPs, four SPs, 10 DSPs, 60 SIs, 100 ASIs, 100 head constables and 2,000 constables,” he said.
“After selections are completed for the unit, it will be made independent from the district police,” he said.
Nafees said SPU officials would be provided Elite Force training and their salaries would be equal to those of the Elite Force personnel.
“SPU officials will not be transferred to another branch,” said Nafees.
Requesting anonymity because the details have not been finalised yet, a senior official said that the SPU was expected to take over the security of seven more development projects in the next phase.
“The provincial government has allocated Rs1.2 billion for procurement of automatic weapons, vehicles, wireless sets, night vision goggles and other modern security gadgets for the force to make it operational,” he said.
Elite Force DIG Muhammad Tahir, who has the additional charge of the SPU, is currently leading the new force.
A Finance Department official told The Express Tribune that 482 foreigners from various countries were working on different projects in the country.
“The government had decided to form a new unit to ensure foreigners’ security in March, 2014,” he said.
He said most foreign experts had been reluctant to work on the development projects because of security concerns.
“This delayed several projects and increased their cost. The SPU will provide foolproof security to foreign engineers and technicians working on projects across the province. Providing such security will be essential for restoring the confidence of foreign companies, encouraging them to invest in the country,” he said.
The official said that the government was focusing on bringing Chinese investment to Pakistan. “They have now agreed to increase their investment in Pakistan to $34 billion,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2015.
The Specialised Protection Unit (SPU) of the Punjab Police, formed to protect foreigners in the province, is expected to be fully functional by June 30, SPU SSP Gohar Nafees has told The Express Tribune.
“The government decided to establish the SPU unit to protect foreigners, especially Chinese nationals working on various development projects,” he said.
“Currently, 267 SPU personnel are deployed at Nandipur Power Plant, 66 at Iron Ore Plant Chiniot, 59 at Jinnah Barrage near Mianwali and 120 at Quaid-i-Azam Solar Plant, Bahawalpur,” said Nafees.
He said the SPU headquarters was being established at Farooqabad Police Lines and would be operational soon.
“The SPU will be headed by a DIG and have two SSPs, four SPs, 10 DSPs, 60 SIs, 100 ASIs, 100 head constables and 2,000 constables,” he said.
“After selections are completed for the unit, it will be made independent from the district police,” he said.
Nafees said SPU officials would be provided Elite Force training and their salaries would be equal to those of the Elite Force personnel.
“SPU officials will not be transferred to another branch,” said Nafees.
Requesting anonymity because the details have not been finalised yet, a senior official said that the SPU was expected to take over the security of seven more development projects in the next phase.
“The provincial government has allocated Rs1.2 billion for procurement of automatic weapons, vehicles, wireless sets, night vision goggles and other modern security gadgets for the force to make it operational,” he said.
Elite Force DIG Muhammad Tahir, who has the additional charge of the SPU, is currently leading the new force.
A Finance Department official told The Express Tribune that 482 foreigners from various countries were working on different projects in the country.
“The government had decided to form a new unit to ensure foreigners’ security in March, 2014,” he said.
He said most foreign experts had been reluctant to work on the development projects because of security concerns.
“This delayed several projects and increased their cost. The SPU will provide foolproof security to foreign engineers and technicians working on projects across the province. Providing such security will be essential for restoring the confidence of foreign companies, encouraging them to invest in the country,” he said.
The official said that the government was focusing on bringing Chinese investment to Pakistan. “They have now agreed to increase their investment in Pakistan to $34 billion,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2015.