18 KP police sniffer dogs die within four years

PESHAWAR: At least 18 sniffer dogs belonging to Khyber Pakthunkhwa police have died in the last four years due to a lack of care.

In 2014, 51 sniffer dogs were imported for KP police to establish a canine unit (K9) to help them deal with the rising wave of terrorism in the province.

Official documents show currently 67 sniffer dogs are part of KP’s K9 unit which also comprises of a unit director, a DSP-rank officer and 38 dog handlers.

However, due to untrained handlers and a lack of care at least 18 sniffer dogs part of the unit have died in the last four years, according to sources. Officials, however, claim the valuable dogs died due to various diseases and not because of a lack of care.

The force spent Rs25.5 million (Rs500,000 each) on purchase of the dogs in 2014 and the daily cost of feeding each dog is Rs231 which amounts to over Rs17 million in four years.

Besides assisting the police in operations against terrorists and other criminals, sniffer dogs are also used in rescue and search operations following natural calamities and other disasters. They are also used to detect explosives.