Pakistan is raising a special police force to curb crime, strengthen rescue and relief operations during floods and help conserve the endangered Indus dolphin along the River Indus.
The first 700 recruits for the Riverine Amphibious Police Force (RAPF) will graduate in February next year, after being trained by the Pakistan Army.
The force will be deployed in districts of Punjab through which the Indus flows, including Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Bhakkar, Mianwali and Attock.
The Indus River is one of the longest rivers in Asia, flowing over 3,000 kilometres from Tibet through India and into Pakistan.
The Indus provides essential water for agriculture and livelihoods, but has also become a hotbed of criminal activity as armed groups have carved out safe havens for themselves on islands in the river.
“Bandits and criminals have established their sanctuaries on islands in the Indus and have been challenging the writ of the state for many years now,” said deputy inspector general of police Sohail Habib Tajik.
He said the RAPF would help enforce the law on the waterway. “Some areas along the Indus have become the headquarters of kidnappers and criminals because the police cannot reach them on the islands,” explained Tajik, who is also commandant of the Sihala Police College where the police personnel are undergoing initial training.
In July 2013, around 60 criminals captured three islands in the Indus in Rajanpur district of Punjab province and took eight police hostage. The area is notorious for killings and kidnapping by armed gangs.
“The traditional police are not well enough trained or equipped,” Tajik said, adding the RAPF will have the latest gear including motorboats, communication systems, navigation tools and weapons.
The force will also keep check on the trade of illicit weapons and movement of militants between districts along the Indus.
The RAPF personnel will be trained in swimming, diving and equipped with speedboats and life jackets and so will also act as first response in rescue operations during floods.
