Paramilitary troops for Islamabad's security

Pakistan has decided to deploy paramilitary troops for security in Islamabad following a deadly suicide attack by militants earlier this month at a local court in which 11 people were killed, officials said Sunday.

A judge and five lawyers were among those who died in the terror attack.

The Islamabad police had been under fire for security lapse and a delayed response to the March 3 brazen attack in one of the sensitive areas in Islamabad, Xinhua reported.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan presided over a high-level meeting and decided to put in place a new security system for the capital city.

The minister told the meeting that paramilitary troops, the Rangers, have been given this extra responsibility to make Islamabad a safer city ensuring "security of life and property of every resident and giving extra confidence to the people of Islamabad", he said.

The parliament had also shown dissatisfaction with the poor response to the terror attack in the court and the Supreme Court had ordered installation of CCTV camera in all courts in the capital and the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi.

This is the first time that paramilitary troops will be permanently deployed in Islamabad. In the past they had been occasionally called out in case of major threats or massive protests.