The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial government intends to fill 17,000 vacant police positions to address a critical shortage in the force. During a high-level security briefing at the Governor's House in Peshawar on Saturday, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi stated that these posts would be filled without delay.
Provincial Home Secretary Amjad Ali Khan informed the meeting that the previous administration had failed to support the fight against terrorism or the return of Afghan refugees. He noted that under previous regimes, the police budget for the merged districts was only 3.2 per cent. Furthermore, the previous administration had earmarked Rs6.4 billion for 22 districts but released only one billion rupees.
To address these issues, the current government has pledged Rs70 billion for the police and Rs10.3 billion for the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) for this year. The government also plans to install anti-drone systems in Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, and Bannu to counter rising terrorist threats. Home Secretary Khan announced that the government aims to reduce the police's 15 per cent manpower shortfall down to five per cent.
The Home Secretary also stated that intelligence-based operations (IBOs) would be increased and facilitators of terrorists would be arrested. He reported that over the past two years, 3,788 terrorists were killed while 1,200 law-enforcement personnel died.
Governor Kundi declared that the state would wage an all-out war against those who fight against it. He accused elements in Afghanistan of facilitating India and Israel and of sending drones across the border. The Governor stated the province would press the federal government for its due share of resources.
Regarding local political figures, Kundi remarked that Maulana Fazlur Rehman was entitled to his views but work could not be halted on that account. He criticized individuals who send other people's children for jihad while sending their own children to Europe and Turkey. Kundi also noted that in the past, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Ali Amin Gandapur could not move freely after dusk in their own areas, a situation that would now change.
