Female cops to be deployed at various checkpoints

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02 Jun 2004, Multan, Pakistan --- Armed Pakistani female police officers stand outside a Shiite mosque in Multan. Thousands of troops and paramilitary forces are on maximum alert to prevent further clashes between extreme Shiite and Sunni factions in Pakistan. Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence has killed as many as 4,000 people in the past 15 years. The latest violence followed Monday's mosque attack, which was believed to have been triggered by the killing of the senior Sunni cleric, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai in Karachi, over the weekend by unidentified gunmen. --- Image by © epa/Corbis

In a first, the Punjab law enforcement authorities on Friday decided to deploy female police officers at various checkpoints in the provincial capital, media reports said.

According to a report, around 88 female officers will be deployed at 13 entry checkpoints in Lahore as part of the first phase of a campaign. They will be available around the clock and will perform their duties in eight-hour shifts.

The step, as per the report, is being taken to control crimes involving female suspects.

“We have been deployed at the checkpoints to control the illegal exchange of weapons and drugs, and to make this country peaceful,” said one officer as quoted by the report.

She remarked that more female officers will be deployed to other entry points in the next phase of the campaign.