LAHORE, Dec 1: Four-week training for 40 officials of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkawa governments in operating eight state-of-the-art bomb disposal vehicles will start from Jan 3, 2012 at Chuhng Police School, Lahore.

The vehicles will be handed over to governments of two provinces under the civilian capacity building of Law Enforcement Programme of EU.

The vehicles will be used to counter bomb blasts, dispose of time devices and deal post-blast situation.

Currently, the bomb disposal unit of Punjab Civil Defence, which acts as first responder along with the police, lacks proper gadgets and expertise to cope with the emergency situation.

Chuhng Police Training School Commandant Maj Mubashirullah (retired) told Dawn that a bomb disposal vehicle carried wireless-driven robotic device, armoured-plated bucket to dispose of time devices, and special fire-proof and bomb-proof uniforms for crew, chiller for making ice and night-vision facility.

He said the robot controlled by surveillance camera, would reach near the time device, defuse it and then throw it in an armoured-plated bucket installed at backside of the vehicle.

He said the device would have no impact on the BD vehicle if it blew in the bomb-proof bucket.

Mubashirullah said 20 members of each province would take part in two phases (two-week each) of training in Jan 2011 and the vehicles would be handed over to the department concerned at a ceremony participated by the EU ambassador.

He said it was not yet decided as to which department in Punjab would possess the vehicles.

However, a Punjab police official says the civil defence department (bomb disposal squad) in three provinces -- Sindh, KP and Balochistan -- is under the command of police while in Punjab it is run by the home department. “The Punjab government should hand over the expensive vehicles to the police department for better results as the civil defence officials don't have much expertise and the provincial government must follow other provinces.” —MUHAMMAD FAISAL ALI