ISLAMABAD: Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Monday Pakistan looked forward to enhancing ties “based on common interests” with the European Union.
Bajwa was meeting Androulla Kaminara, ambassador of the European Union, who called on the chief of army staff (COAS) at the army headquarters, GHQ, in Rawalpindi.
“During the meeting matters of mutual interest, regional security situation including recent developments in Afghan Peace Process were discussed,” the Pakistan army said in a statement. “COAS said that Pakistan values its relations with EU and we earnestly look forward to enhance mutually beneficial multi-domain relations based on common interests.”
Kaminara “appreciated Pakistan’s sincere efforts for bringing peace and stability in the region, especially the Afghan Peace Process.”
The meeting comes just weeks after violent protests by a rightwing political party that demanded the government expel the French envoy before April 20 over the publication of blasphemous cartoons in France.
At the time, Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the nation and said severing ties with France would hit Pakistani exports to the EU and fuel poverty, unemployment and inflation in the country.
“The biggest effect [of breaking ties with France] will be that after great difficulty our economy is rising, the large-scale industry is getting up after a long time, people are getting jobs, wealth is increasing in our country, our exports are rising and after a long time, our rupee is strengthening,” Khan said in a televised address to the nation, adding that breaking ties with France was tantamount to severing relations with the entire European Union.
“Half of our textile exports go to the EU and that will be stopped, resulting in unemployment, devaluation of the rupee, increase in inflation and poverty,” Khan said. “We will be at loss but this won’t make any difference to France.”
Pakistani army chief says looks forward to ‘enhance’ ties with European Union
https://arab.news/r7c7t
Pakistani army chief says looks forward to ‘enhance’ ties with European Union
- Bajwa was meeting EU ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara who called on him at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi
- Meeting comes weeks after violent protests by rightwing group calling on government to expel French envoy over publication of blasphemous cartoons
Pakistan’s capital police look to military expertise to build elite SWAT force
- A SWAT force is an elite, specially trained police unit that is deployed in high-risk and complex security situations
- Islamabad police have requested attachment of two army majors, 16 SSG commandos for training of personnel
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police have sought the assistance of Pakistan Army to help establish a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, an official said on Friday, as the capital police department undertakes multifaceted duties.
The development comes amid a surge in militancy in Pakistan and follows a suicide blast that killed 12 people and injured 36 others outside a district court’s complex in Islamabad’s G-11 sector in Nov. last year, prompting heightened security measures by authorities.
A SWAT force is an elite, specially trained police unit that is deployed in high-risk and complex situations that regular police are not equipped to handle. Various countries train their SWAT personnel in close-quarters combat, tactical movement and breaching, explosives handling and crisis response.
In a letter written to the Islamabad chief commissioner, Inspector General Ali Nasir Rizvi noted the capital police were performing multifaceted duties, including maintenance of law and order, crime prevention as well as security and route assignments, requesting the attachment of army personnel.
“We are establishing a SWAT [unit] and we have asked for officers from them to impart training and the National Police Academy has requested too,” he said.
The Islamabad police have inducted 200 personnel in the SWAT force that is likely to operate under the command and supervision of a senior superintendent of police, according to local media reports.
The capital police department seeks services of two army majors and 16 commandos from the military’s elite Special Services Group (SSG), according to the letter seen by Arab News. Of the 16 commandos, 10 are to be deputed at the National Police Academy.
Late last year, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration also introduced an electronic tagging system as part of a broader effort to enhance surveillance, regulate traffic and improve record-keeping in a city that hosts the country’s main government institutions, foreign missions and diplomatic enclaves.
Under the system, vehicles are fitted with electronic tags that can be read automatically by scanners installed at checkpoints across the capital, allowing authorities to identify unregistered vehicles without manual inspections.
