Peshawar - Smartly turned out policemen dressed in black trousers and bluish shirts, each having a teaser gun, a body cam (camera fixed to body), a drone cam, taser gun, a modern assault rifle and sitting on a modern heavy motorbike: the newly Ababeel Force has become a focus of attention on the roads of the provincial capital nowadays.
The Ababeel Force was inaugurated by KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan recently, after 800 police personnel were imparted a special training and 200 heavy motorbikes were also handed over to them.
Discussing the new force, Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Haroon-ur-Rasheed said the aim of the Ababeel Force was to curb street crime in the provincial capital.
“Peshawar already has a City Patrol Force but the Ababeel Force is a separate force. The new force is meant to reduce crime rate, particularly street crime,” he added.
Haroon Rasheed said that the force would operate in all areas of Peshawar.
“It’s presently comprised of 800 personnel but there is plan to increase the numbers to 1600 eventually. Also, it has a dedicated control room. In case there is some kind of crime taking place, the control room can direct the nearest Ababeel Force squad to reach the trouble spot,” he added.
Talking to The Nation, the KP Inspector General of Police (IGP) Moazzam Jah Ansari said that force was launched with an aim to provide quick response to victims of street crime.
“With their presence and visibility, hopefully, the street criminals will be discouraged and crime will be reduced,” he added.
The provincial police chief said that Ababeel Force is the first of its kind and that it would also be extended to other divisional headquarters and districts of the province in due course.