Police filling ISAF soldiers’ vacuum: MoI

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said on Tuesday apart from financial aid, police also needed strong political support to emerge as professional and dedicated force.

Acting Interior Minister Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi said despite continued security challenges, the future looked bright and hopeful for the country’s police force.

Speaking at an event called “Police Recognition Week”, Salangi said compared to previous years, police were more professional, experienced and skilled.

“When we talk about police strength, it is not just about numbers, weapons and ammunition, but it is about the fact that our police is stronger and could easily fill in the vacuum created by 100,000 international forces,” he added.

 NATO would officially end on January 1, 2015 and 13,000 international forces would embark upon their new task of training and advising Afghan forces.

“Police haven’t been deficient in the fight against terrorism, but have made many achievements,” Salangi claimed, saying he was hopeful about the future as police had strong support from the people and the international community.

Shukria Barakzai, a member of parliament, said police had rendered a lot of sacrifices in maintaining security.  “Police had a difficult task of combating terrorism, drugs and criminals and yet they were not fully equipped.”

Mir Afghan and Mustafa, two policemen who lost their lives trying to prevent suicide bombers from entering Kabul, were also remembered and their families awarded with insignias.

hg/mud

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