RAWALPINDI: In the wake of the overnight attack on a commercial aircraft at Peshawar airport that left a woman passenger killed and two crew members injured, the authorities at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) on Wednesday reviewed the airport’s security.
The airport authorities believe that it is the police who are responsible for securing the airport’s surrounding areas with the assistance of intelligence agencies.
A meeting was held on Wednesday to review the security arrangements at the BBIA which had already been on red alert since the June 8 attack on the Karachi airport.
The BBIA is surrounded by thickly-populated residential areas which are not considered fully secure.
When the airport manager, Mohammad Ayaz Jadoon, was contacted and asked about the security measures, he said: “The security measures put in place are reasonable but it is the police who are responsible for securing the areas outside the airport perimeter.”
A senior police officer on the condition of anonymity added that since the terrorist attack at the Karachi airport he had written letters to the city police officer about the loopholes in the security of BBIA. He said the airport was surrounded by residential areas from where the aircraft could be targeted.
So far this month, three attacks have been reported on airports across the country.
On June 8, over 10 gunmen attacked the airport in Karachi killing 34 people. Two days later, an academy for the security forces at the airport was also targeted.
Recently, the special branch in its report pointed out that three sides of the BBIA were surrounded by residential areas such as Khuram Colony, Lalial-1, Lalial-2 and Mohalla Hafiz. Windows and rooftops of the houses in the localities overlooked into the airport’s restricted area which can be exploited by terrorists, it added.
The report suggested that certificates should be obtained from the owners of the properties and windows opening into the restricted area of the airport should be closed.
It was also suggested that lights should be installed at vulnerable places.
The report said several incidents of theft, robbery, kidnapping and murder had taken place in the area around the airport. Some people placed on the watch list of the police under the anti-terrorism act also lived in the area.
Though the report was sent to the chief minister Punjab, no measures have so far been taken by the police to ensure the security of the airport.
Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014