US to train Pakistan police force: official

Islamabad, Nov 4 : The US will help train police personnel in Pakistan's Punjab province which has faced terror strikes by the Taliban, a media report said Wednesday.

Carol M. Sniegowski, US embassy assistant legal attache, held a meeting with Punjab Inspector General of Police Tariq Saleem Dogar Tuesday in Lahore during which prospects of mutual cooperation in the fields of police training and investigation were reviewed, The News International reported Wednesday.

Sniegowski said the US would provide technical assistance and training to the Punjab police.

The official said that in order to upgrade the investigation wing, vehicles equipped with latest investigative equipments would also be provided.

Dogar hoped that cooperation with the US in the field of training would enhance the professional skills of the police officials while the availability of vehicles equipped with latest investigative equipment would be helpful in investigating the crimes on scientific lines.

Pakistan has been hit by a spate of terror attacks, including massive bombings. Over 200 people have been killed in the terror strikes since Oct 5.

On Oct 15, gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed two police academies and the offices of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency in Lahore. A car bomber struck at a police station in the northwestern town of Kohat. At least 38 people including 11 insurgents were killed in a single day.

The army has stepped up its offensive in South Waziristan against the Taliban, which has vowed to retaliate.

--IANS