Sunday, July 23, 2006

US training for Pakistani security services



Comment: The news item below is a positive thing for Pakistani law enforcement organizations. Historically, Pakistan Army had been the only beneficiary of the US training courses, whereas police rarely received any attention. It is hoped that rather than Army's Special Services Group (SSG), it will be police personnel who will get this training and advanced equiment.


Daily Times, July 23, 2006
Musharraf, Aziz’s security: US to train Pakistani security men
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The US government will train Pakistani security personnel in the protection of VVIPs, Daily Times has learnt

Sources said that as a first step towards this new training programme, Washington is posting a federal prosecution officer to the US Embassy in Islamabad whose primary duty would be to act as a liaison officer for the training programme.

The US State Department wants better security for Pakistani officials it considers important in the war on terror, the sources said, adding that these ‘VVIPs’ were President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, both of whom have been targeted by suicide attacks in the past.

Interior Ministry sources confirmed that the US made the offer to Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao when he recently visited Washington for a security cooperation meeting.

Sources said that during the meeting, Henry Crompton, coordinator for counter-terrorism at the State Department, said that America was ready to help upgrade Pakistani security agencies. Bruce Swartz, US deputy attorney general, said that the focus would be on providing more specialised training, as well as assessing the impact of training already provided, the sources said. Qamarul Zaman, additional interior secretary, told the US delegation that training programmes conducted at the National Police Academy and Federal Investigation Agency academy had been very useful. The Americans were of the view that Pakistani security personnel still needed training on how to protect VVIPs, the sources said.

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