A group of police officers in Karachi carefully balance on rollerblades at a training centre and then leap down a set of stairs.
It is all part of rigorous training for a new armed rollerblading unit. The programme has been operating for more than a month with the aim of helping the officers to curb theft and harassment in Pakistan's largest city.
Gliding in a circle with their weapons pointed inwards, the 10 men and 10 women who make up the unit raise and lower their unloaded guns in unison.
"We felt we needed to come up with an innovative approach to control street crime," said Farrukh Ali, chief of the unit.
He said officers on rollerblades could more easily chase thieves on motorcycles through the city of about 20 million.
