The Sindh Police has finalized a plan to replace Kalashnikov with Turkish 9mm pistols as an issue weapon for policemen in Karachi.
The police department has prepared a summary in this regard, according to which, it plans to purchase 7,000 Turkish 9mm pistols. The Home Department has approved the summary.
At the request of Sindh Inspector-General, Mushtaq Mehar, the provincial cabinet has also relaxed the Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (SPPRA) rules.
According to Express Tribune, the police department aims to purchase 7,000 pistols in the first phase. The project will cost Rs. 620 million in terms of import and other expenses. This way, each pistol would cost about Rs. 89,000.
The police started issuing small weapons to field officers and personnel instead of Kalashnikov in Karachi in the wake of an incident in which a 10-year old girl, Amal, was killed during a police encounter in Defence in 2019.
As per the publication, the Karachi Police currently has 15,000 9mm pistols. The planned purchase of 7,000 pistols will take the number to 22,000 against the total strength of 40,000 personnel. The department wants to gradually distribute pistols among the entire force in order to avoid such incidents.