Departments take months to move against terrorism threats: PDMA declares Sindh government buildings, record 'vulnerable'

Whereas the terrorists are stretching their muscle through targeting innocent lives and public property across the country, the Sindh government departments seem to have failed to wake up and smell the coffee.
"Various government buildings and premises have been prime target of the ongoing wave of terrorism throughout the country," a letter of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had warned some three months back, on May 18.
It said: "The present state of affairs makes the building structures, record and lives very vulnerable... incidents of large arson and specific targeting of government property and record have also been witnessed." PDMA is mandated to ensure that measures are taken by government departments 'for mitigation, capacity building and preparedness'.
The Authority also lamented the slapdash attitude of government departments and the resultant fragility of existing security networks, if there is any at all. "There has been a traditional lack of emphasis on ensuring safety protocol that is even considered standard throughout the world," it noted.
Believing that the present state of affairs is making the government buildings, the official record therein, and lives of the people 'very vulnerable', PDMA urged immense need for putting in place a strong and foolproof security mechanism for the public premises.
PDMA, proposing a 'baseline as a minimum standard' for the protection of government buildings, asked the departments to designate security and safety officers on departmental and premises level in their respective offices.
"It is... requested that every head of the department... shall immediately designate an officer of BPS-19 as Department Security and Safety Officer (DSSO) for their respective departments/ buildings/organisations and Premises Security and Safety Officer (PSSO) for each premises/building under their respective jurisdiction," said the letter fom the Authority. According to PDMA, the DSSO would be responsible for developing/maintaining safety and security protocols/guidelines for the concerned department/organisation, while the PSSO would ensure implementation.
"The complete details of the officer designated must reach this office within 10 days for taking further necessary action accordingly," warned the disaster management body.
The wake-up call, however, fell on deaf ears in the concerned offices where the so-called bureaucracy, from District Co-ordination Officers (DCOs) to Secretaries, took months to comply with PDMA's asking. It took the authorities at provincial secretariats, like Sindh Assembly, over three months to materialise, and that also partially, the precautionary security plan that may aptly be dubbed as need of the hour at this juncture.
According to sources, it was last week, on August 10, when Additional Secretary, Sindh Assembly, Ghulam Muhammad Umer Farooque, appointed Qamar Haider Abidi as DSSO.
Interestingly, the authorities at Sindh Assembly have still not appointed the PSSO who, according to PDMA, is to implement the approved protocols and guidelines. It is pertinent to note that PDMA's security advice also enjoys the backing of Sindh Chief Secretary Fazlur Rehman, as the letter states: "The issue carries approval of the chief secretary of Sindh."