KARACHI, June 29:
Faced with the prospect of international carriers skipping Pakistan, the Nawaz Sharif Government has asked the Army to ensure security at the four main international airports in the country.
Pakistan Army and paramilitary Rangers will be providing security at the runways and other main installations of the airports at Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Lahore, the Prime Minister’s special assistant on aviation Shujaat Azeem told journalists.
Located inside or close to densely populated areas, these airports have been classified as vulnerable to security threats. Security agencies also have warned that the country’s major airports can come under attack from militants, Ifran Ghauri reported in the Express Tribune today. Some major international airlines, notably Emirates and Saudi, have suspended their operations to Peshawar after Pakistani Airlines airbus was attacked on June 24 when it was landing at the Bacha Khan International Airport. Similar threat looms large over Karachi which had witnessed a brazen attack by Taliban militants on June 8. Azeem has since talked to the chief executives of Emirates, Saudi and Qatar airlines and urged them to resume service in Peshawar.
“We have requested them to resume their service in day time,” he said.
“The Pakistan Army will secure the funnel area and important installations at the four main airports,” he said, adding that Pakistan Rangers and the Airport Security Force (ASF) will also be part of the security cordon under the comprehensive plan prepared in consultation with corps commanders. Normally, the ASF looks after the security of the airports across Pakistan but in the wake of the recent attacks and the ongoing military operation in the Taliban infested North Waziristan tribal Agency the authorities have enhanced airport security across the country.
Already Pakistan Army officials have been deployed along with police in Masho Khel, Mashogagar, Sheikh Muhammadi and Garhi Mali Khel villages of Peshawar to “ward off any other militant attack”.
A police official told The Express Tribune that the Army has been deployed inside police check posts in several areas on the city’s outskirts to maintain law and order under. “Around 30 soldiers have been positioned at each check post which is an important development towards stopping the movement of local militants,” he added.
In a related development the Lahore Police have foiled a terrorist bid with the seizure of a truck containing a huge cache of explosives, DawnNews reported today. During a routine search, police halted a truck laden with brimstone sacks on the Rawal bridge check post, and on inspection uncovered the explosives hidden in the vehicle, the report said, adding that two suspects have been taken away to an unidentified location for interrogation. (UNI)
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