ISLAMABAD: Federal cabinet has approved raising of a specialized Riot Police Force ostensibly to handle the protest demonstrations and directed the interior division to approach Planning & Development Division for funding and Finance division for creation of posts.
According to sources, the federal cabinet has taken note of the presentation made by Inspector General of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police on raising of specialized Riot Police Force and approved the concept in principle with the directions that the purchase of equipment and training be taken up with planning & development division for funding through Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and the finance division be approached for creation of posts.
The cabinet further directed the Interior Division to create a specialized cell in ICT Police to sternly check the illegal occupation of lands by the Qabza mafia. In order to strengthen the hands of the Police in this regard, the interior division shall also explore whether any legislation is required or not.
The Inspector General of ICT Police, in a presentation to the cabinet regarding raising of a specialized Riot Police Force, highlighted that ICT Police had been working on the basis of manpower sanctioned in 2005. The population and other demographics had changed significantly. The Prime Minister had already approved creation of 3386 posts in 2019 spread over four phases. So far, only phase-I has been completed with the creation of only 437 x posts and the remaining phases remain unfunded. Maintenance of law & order in Islamabad in the present era required use of technology for optimal results. ICT Police had already taken certain measures in this regard.
The federal cabinet in its meeting held on 17-08-2021 had decided as under: “Present the summary regarding raising of the specialized Riot Police Force in the next cabinet meeting.”
“Accordingly, this proposal had been prepared after consulting the Turkish trained officers of Punjab Police and School of Public Disorder Management, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police,” said sources.
As per details, approximately Rs 1829 million is estimated as cost of 16 drone units, video analytic software (VAS), artificial intelligence (AI) based 100 cameras, equipment, and manpower.
The Interior Division in its recommendation said that the decision taken by the Prime Minister in 2019 may be fully implemented by providing funding for phase-II and phase-III. The technology based component may be approved in principle on the basis of the projected cost. Modalities in this regard would be worked out accordingly for early implementation based on availability of funds. Training being a critical component is equally important. The proposal may be approved in principle and PC-I will be prepared and submitted to a competent forum for approval and funding.
During discussion in the federal cabinet meeting, some of the members were of the view that greater dependence should be on technology and there was no need to expand as much on manpower. The others opined that trained manpower was equally important and an effective Riot Police Force would be an amalgam of all the components. Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives Asad Umar assured that equipment could be approved for creation of posts.
The Prime Minister exhorted on the need to create a specialized cell in ICT Police to sternly deal with the Qabza mafia. Highlighting the plight of poor victims whose lands were illegally occupied by these criminal elements, he offered to legislate on the issue, if need be, to strengthen the hands of the police.
A member highlighted that despite the orders of the Supreme Court not to allow protesters at D Chowk, violations were being frequently witnessed. The members urged the ICT Police to strictly comply with the orders of the court.
