ISLAMABAD – The ineptness and lack of vision of the government is evident from the fact that Rs 500 million has gone down the drain as costly mobile scanners bought by the Interior Ministry have been rusting at Islamabad Police Lines for the last ten months.
A source in the ministry told Pakistan Today that due to Finance Ministry’s refusal to release funds for the fuel of mobile scanners imported from China a year ago for installation at capital’s entry points, the security scanners were rusting away at police lines.
The source said despite repeated requests by the ministry, the Finance Division had not released the funds. “In absence of the required funds for the fuel of state-of-the-art security scanners, they are not serving the purpose for which they were imported, while the government is still paying installments for loan on which the gadgets were purchased,” he added.
It is pertinent to mention that in January 2010, China handed over the security scanners to the Pakistani while the ICT police installed one mobile scanner near Golra Toll Plaza and the other at Rawat Toll Plaza, Islamabad in April 2010. At the handing over ceremony in January 2010, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said that Pakistani government was highly thankful to the Chinese government for providing security scanners, as it would help in thwarting terror attempts.
Relevant data on the import of security scanners from China revealed that the government of China had offered a concessional tied loan for the procurement of NVIS system through their state owned company, NUCTECH, which was the sole supplier of this technology.
After thorough deliberations between the two governments, NUCTECH agreed to provide this system on a negotiated price of $2.96 million per unit, whereas in the international market the price was $4.5 million to $9 million.
The Senate Standing Committee on Interior has also raised questions on the price and health hazards of these scanners. Senator Jamal Leghari had said the scanners emitted rays which were injurious to health and if the scanners were destroyed in an explosion, they would create an alarming situation.
Representative of Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority said in a meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Interior that the rays emitted by the scanners would spread within a radius of 40 kilometre. ICT Police SSP (Headquarters) Zubair Hashmi refused to comment on the issue.
Senator Tahir Mashhadi of the MQM, member the Senate body on interior, demanded the government conduct an inquiry into the purchase of these costly scanners. “A majority of committee members had opposed the proposal, but high-ups of the Interior Ministry turned a deaf ear to our advice,” he said.
