Sharing the responsibility: Sindh police gear up to fight militancy

60 cops complete four-week counter-terrorism training under army in Jamshoro

HYDERABAD: As 60 policemen from Hyderabad completed their counter-terrorism training under the Pakistan Army, Sindh police officials felt confident that the civilian force was gearing up to cope with the scourge of militancy.

"The joint efforts of the army, Rangers and police will help eliminate the terrorists," said Karachi corps commander Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar on Friday. He was addressing the certificate distribution ceremony after the completion of a four-week training course at the army's Kotri Firing Range in Jamshoro district.

He said that the law enforcement agencies were working in complete coordination to deal with the internal and external threats to the country. "It is our duty to be ever-ready to cope with these threats."

Mukhtar explained that the constables had been trained in counter-terrorism, search, raid, weaponry and sniper techniques as well as other skills. He reiterated that the army will continue to offer its services to train police personnel and build an anti-terrorism force within the police.

While the Sindh government is yet to form its 1,000-strong counter-terrorism force (CTF), announced on February 2 by the provincial chief minister, Hyderabad SSP Irfan Baloch took the initiative by selecting 60 personnel for training by the army. The squad, selected from among recently recruited and trained police constables, spent two weeks in physical training and two to improve their firing skills.

"Although most of the weapons we used were the same as in police training, we learned how the army uses them more skilfully and with greater accuracy," said policeman Abdul Qadeer, who was awarded the certificate for best firing by Lt Gen Mukhtar, while talking to The Express Tribune.

SSP Baloch told The Express Tribune that the squad would be based in the Hyderabad police but would also be deployed for counter-terrorism efforts in neighbouring districts if needed.

"The policemen have traditional skills because they are trained only to deal with conventional crime, not militancy," Sindh IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali observed while addressing the ceremony. "The menace of militancy requires special training in counter-terrorism and only the army can impart these skills to the police."

He said that Pakistan was passing through extraordinary times, confronted with militancy, extremism, targeted killings in Karachi, extortion and other crimes. He added that the Sindh police had also requested the army to give training to policemen under the age of 30 years.

Jamali later told the media that he had recommended to the Sindh government to pay the CTF personnel higher salaries and allowances and equip them with modern weapons.

Hyderabad DIG Dr Sanaullah Abbasi told The Express Tribune that he had sought the names of 20 newly-recruited police constables from each of the nine districts in Hyderabad police range for CTF training.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2015.