PESHAWAR: Eighteen sniffer dogs of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police have died within four years due to neglect.
KP police established a canine unit (K9) in 2014 and imported 52 sniffer dogs for the purpose to aid in counter-terrorism. 67 dogs are currently part of the K9 unit, official documents show. But 18 also died due to untrained handlers and lack of care though officials deny this, saying they died due to diseases.
Rs 25.5 million (Rs 500,000 each) were spent on purchasing the dogs and feeding costs stand at Rs 17 million in four years.
Sniffer dogs play a crucial part in counter terrorism, apprehending criminals, explosives/ drugs detection and search/ rescue missions following natural disasters.