ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways Police are facing a shortage of around 1,779 police personnel of different cadres and the Ministry of Railways was trying to fill the vacant posts at the earliest to bridge the gap for the smooth working of the rail affairs.
“Executive Staff (Uniform) has sanctioned strength of 7,043 posts but presently around 5,315 are working and the department is facing a deficiency of 1,728 personnel in this category,” sources in the Ministry told.
Giving detail of the other cadres, they said that sanctioned posts of the ministerial staff are 150 but currently 119 officials are working and facing a shortage of 31 personnel.
The sources said as many as 11 personnel were working in the Bomb Disposal section against the approved strength of 24, which shows a shortage of 13 personnel, adding that 55 officials were working against the sanctioned strength of 62 personnel of Class-IV.
Regarding the duties of the Pakistan Railways Police, they said that protection of railway property, crime control, maintenance of law and order, counter-terrorism, assistance to railway passengers and labour union activities were the prime responsibility of the railway police.
They said according to SRO (1)/2016, the Ministry of Railways, “The territorial limits within which Pakistan Railways Police would perform its functions would extend over the entire infrastructure of Pakistan Railways throughout the country including residential colonies, dwelling houses, and barracks of the railways servants and any other property on the land belonging to the organization but excluding the railway track beyond station limits.”
To improve and enhance the skills of the Pakistan Railways Police, they said the department has held different trains including qualitatively improved training and gender responsive and human rights-based training.
They said that partners in training are Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh Police, Intelligence Bureau (IB), United Nation Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), United Nation Women, International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Programme (ICITAP) and International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).