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| Wednesday, 31 December 2003 |
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Security beefed up in Islamabad Thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers will be deployed in the Pakistani Capital Islamabad for the safety and security of South Asian leaders during the upcoming regional summit, officials said yesterday. The January 4-6 summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is to be attended by leaders of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. "We have called in 3,000 policemen from other provinces to perform security duties," Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Rauf told AFP. He said some 500 additional troops of paramilitary Frontier Corps will also be deployed in the Capital. Rauf said police commandos will also be deployed at key intersections. "All entry and exit points of the Capital are being monitored round the clock and every person or vehicle entering or leaving the city is searched." An unspecified number of regular army troops have also been deployed, as part of the unprecedented security, following two assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf this month, the latest killing 15 people on Christmas Day. Witnesses said army soldiers had also been positioned on hills overlooking Islamabad for the first time in the wake of the massive security cordon. AFP China, Japan desire observer status at SAARC Pakistan said the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) needs to strengthen itself before inducting other regional states in the organisation. Foreign office spokesman Masood Khan said on Monday that Japan and China had expressed the desire to be associated as observers in the grouping. "But priority for the SAARC countries is to strengthen itself from within so that we have the capacity to associate other countries as observers. "That stage has not reached," he said. Pakistan is hosting the 12th summit conference of SAARC,founded in Dhaka in 1985 to promote economic cooperation in the region. AFP |
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