Guarding embassies in Iraq and Pakistan not priority cash-strapped Czech police

The Czech Republic’s police chief, Oldřich Martinů, says his force is short of money and guarding the country’s embassies in Iraq and Pakistan is not one of its priorities. The police currently protect the Czech embassies in Baghdad and Islamabad from their own budget, at a cost of around CZK 60 million (around USD 3.1 million) a year. However, they are not required by law to do so. For their part, diplomats say the Czech legations in the two cities simply could not function without the protection of the country’s police officers. Mr Martinů said on Tuesday that the government would have to resolve the dispute. The Czech ambassador to Pakistan was killed in a hotel explosion nearly two years ago. The country’s embassy in Afghanistan is guarded by Czech soldiers.