The Interior Ministry has taken serious note of the hiring of retired commandos of Pakistan Army by private security company, Inter-Risk, a Pakistani partner of the American security company DynCorp, and directed the Inspector General of Islamabad Police to investigate the matter and submit a report in two weeks.
Intelligence agencies sent a report to Interior Ministry regarding Inter-Risk re-starting its activities in Islamabad, including evidence that Inter-Risk had begun hiring former SSG personnel again, sources in Interior Ministry told Business Recorder on Friday.
After receiving the report, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has directed the Inspector General of Islamabad Police to submit a detailed report within two weeks. The Inter-Risk has restarted hiring retired commandos of Pakistan Army and training them as a quick-response force to meet the requirements of the under-cover Americans operating in Islamabad.
Sources said that the presence of American military contractors, like Blackwater World-wide, (now known as 'Xe Service') and Dyncorp, operating in Islamabad, had been extensively reported in the local media. Foreigners, mainly of US origin, have reportedly rented around 284 houses in different sectors of Islamabad, they said. According to details, 69 houses were rented by foreigners in F-6 sector, 85 houses in F-7, 62 houses in F-8, 15 houses in F-11, 12 houses in E-7, 38 houses in G-6, and three houses in I-8 sector of the capital.
A local security company, namely Wackenhut, has the contract to provide security to all these 284 houses in different sectors of Islamabad and their guards are deployed at these houses. This company is one of four recommended by the Overseas Security Advisory Council, US Department of State, on diplomatic security on its website.
Sources said that application forms are available at specific photocopy shops and are issued to retired commandos of Special Services Group. These retired commandos have been offered jobs as security guards. These SSG retired commandos would be trained under supervision of American trainers in a private training institute working under the garb of an automobile workshop on the outskirts of Islamabad.
It is pertinent to note that after media reports the Islamabad Police raided the office of Inter-Risk in F-6 sector of Islamabad on September 19 and impounded dozens of unlicensed sophisticated weapons. Police recovered 61 assault rifles and nine pistols in raids, besides arresting two employees of Inter-Risk, a spokesman of Islamabad Police stated in a press conference after the raid.
Captain Ali Jaffer Zaidi (Retd), a retired officer of Special Services Group (SSG), was arrested from Islamabad office of his security company, Inter-Risk. Captain Zaidi along with another Pakistan Army retired officer Captain Bernard Masih had recruited more than 200 retired army officials, mostly from SSG, and they were being given special training at a training camp, on the outskirts of Islamabad.
Sources said that Captain Zaidi was recruiting army personnel and training them to use sophisticated weapons for Blackwater. These trained personnel would provide local manpower to execute Blackwater programmes on Pakistani soil. They had been offered lucrative salaries and other perks and privileges and are being provided training for quick response against any target as per international standards, sources added.