Mounting police casualties expose gap in Pakistan’s security structure: Report
Kabul, July 18 (IANS) The wave of attacks on Pakistani security forces, coupled with the armed groups’ ability to leave the area with a large number of captives, has raised concerns over Pakistan’s preparedness, intelligence, communications and the availability of reinforcements to deal with the threats, a report has stated.
The latest attack near Mangi Dam in Ziarat district of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which left 27 police officers dead, has once again exposed the vulnerabilities in the country’s internal security apparatus.
Nine officers were killed after armed men attacked a police post guarding a pumping station in Ziarat, while 18 abducted officers were later found shot dead in nearby mountains, according to a report in Afghan media outlet ‘Khaama Press’.
Citing the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the report said such attacks in Pakistan climbed to 128 in May, marking a 27 per cent increase from April. The violence killed 71 civilians, 68 security personnel and six members of local peace committees, with Balochistan recording the highest number of attacks at 71.
“Provincial police are expected to protect communities, gather local intelligence, secure roads and government installations, respond to militant attacks and maintain public order. Yet they often operate with fewer resources and less institutional influence than the army and Frontier Corps,” the report mentioned.
Highlighting that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police is grappling with substantial personnel shortages, it said findings in June revealed that the force lacked around 170 supervisory officers in grades 17 to 19, including more than 100 assistant and deputy superintendents and 68 officers at the superintendent and senior superintendent levels.
Separately, the provincial police chief said the force was around 11,000 personnel below its authorised strength.
The report noted that Pakistan’s federal Establishment Division transferred 10 police officers from Punjab to designated ‘hard areas’ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in May, while police authorities sought special financial initiatives to “improve morale and retain personnel as attacks on the force increase.”
“These measures acknowledge the danger but do not resolve the deeper problem. Police cannot be expected to hold exposed positions, gather intelligence and absorb repeated attacks without adequate staffing, fortified facilities, modern equipment and dependable operational support,” it stressed.
Warning that Pakistan’s provincial police remain ill-equipped to counter militant attacks, the report said, “Pakistan does not simply need more operations after attacks. It needs a security structure in which provincial police receive the personnel, protection, authority and institutional support required for the role they are already being asked to perform.”
–IANS
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