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Foreigners ‘to get security escort service soon’
By S. Raza Hassan Officials said the service would be offered in about a month, adding that it would already have been functioning were it not for the recent disruptions in law and order in Karachi. — AP/File Photo KARACHI: The Foreign Security Cell of the Karachi police is set to launch a security escort service for foreigners visiting the city, Dawn has learnt. Citizens from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) countries, China and Japan would be offered an optional escort service from the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport upon their arrival in Karachi, a source said, adding that the foreigners could also avail themselves of the services of police gunmen to escort them during their stay in the city. The source said all the details had been worked out, and police gunmen assigned to escort foreigners would be carrying walky-talky handsets, so that the FSC could track the foreigners’ movements and advise them when it came to avoiding troublesome spots.Officials said the service would be offered in about a month, adding that it would already have been functioning were it not for the recent disruptions in law and order in Karachi. An in-depth survey carried out by the department suggested that, on average, 30 foreigners (mainly coming from Nato countries and China and Japan, labelled by the police as ‘category-one’) land at the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport on a daily basis. Officials said that representatives from China and Japan were reported to be very keen on the police escort service, as their citizens frequented the city in connection with various development projects.The cell will provide escort services within the jurisdiction of the Karachi police, and when leaving the city the responsibilities will be handed over to the next district’s police force. Cell formed to address US concerns The Foreign Security Cell worked as a focal office and acted on the requests of consulates, addressing various types of issues, an official explained. The FSC has a rare distinction when it comes to duty hours, as unlike the rest of the police, the 500 personnel assigned to the FSC work in eight-hour shifts. They are provided with food by the department, and they are given a day off after every 10 days. Little wonder, then, that the absentee ratio in the FSC was two per cent, the officials said. The FSC was formed primarily to address security concerns of the consulate of the United States of America in the aftermath of two bomb blasts which took place at the consulate on July 14, 2002 and March 2, 2006.
It was after the 2006 suicide blast outside the US consulate in
Karachi, in which US diplomat David Foy along with several others
was killed, that the foreign security cell was formed.Initially, the
cell was focused on the security needs of the US consulate, but
later its ambit was widened. Karachi is playing host to 35 consulates, out of which six are not functioning at the moment, though their buildings are still present. The missions of Poland, Switzerland and Iraq had moved to Islamabad, the source said.
Similarly, there are 69 residences of consulates and 39 honorary
consulates in the city.The FSC also provides security for different
functions which are held on the premises of the consulates,
coordinating with the Special Branch for walk-through gates and the
traffic police for parking arrangements.The Frontier Constabulary
and Rangers act in aid of the FSC at some of the foreign missions. DAWN: Monday, 08 Jun, 2009 |
