PESHAWAR: After a standoff between militants and Pakistan’s security forces earlier this week that caused six casualties in northwestern Pakistan, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has expedited efforts to train counterterrorism and police forces, a senior government official said.
Last Sunday, the CTD facility was seized by Pakistani Taliban (TTP) militants who overpowered guards, seized arms and took hostages, prompting Pakistani security officials on Tuesday to launch an operation to take back the facility, located in a military cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district.
On Tuesday while speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said all militants who had seized a counterterrorism interrogation center had been eliminated in the operation. Six, including two Pakistani commandos and an army soldier, were killed in the operation.
Babar Saleem Swati, adviser to the chief minister for Home and Tribal Affairs, told Arab News that overhauling, equipping and training of the police force, including thousands of Khasadar forces, “cannot be done overnight.”
The Khasadar is an ill-equipped paramilitary force recruited from among the tribes of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
“We’ve expedited plans to train the tribal areas’ police into a professional force,” Swati said. “And you know the merger of the erstwhile FATA into KP is among the daunting challenges that this province has been confronted with. But we’ve completed the merger process by almost 91 percent,” he added.
However, experts on security affairs said only candid and result-oriented talks with the Afghan government on eliminating trust deficit is a prerequisite to ensure durable peace.
Brig. (retired) Muhammad Ameer Burki, expert on security affairs who served as Pakistan’s former defense attaché to Afghanistan, told Arab News the law-and-order situation has deteriorated alongside the country’s western border.
He said the deteriorating peace situation is creating fear among the local population, who dread that the region could plunge again into the same turmoil that it witnessed between 2001 to 2007.
“But I don’t think that the situation of the past will revisit people again because stability is gradually returning to Afghanistan,” Burki said. “The incumbent Afghan government has now realized the situation,” he added.
Releasing its annual 2022 performance report on Friday, KP police said it has detained 806 militants and another 196 have been killed in encounters.
“At least 118 police personnel got martyred and another 117 wounded in attacks directed on police force during the current year,” the report said.
Almost 10,114 personnel of Levies and Khasadar forces of tribal areas are being given special training to make them a professional force, the report said.
“Yes, it is right that the province is facing financial issues but still on the chief minister’s direction, we’ve approved over Rs. 1.90 billion for capacity building of CTD and police forces of the province,” Swati said.
“And we’re planning to approve more funds to tackle any deficiencies that our forces are confronted with,” Swati added.
However, he said that security isn’t an issue that concerns a particular province only. Swati said the country needs to form a national consensus, demonstrate unity and seek a combined approach to get rid of militancy.
On Thursday, KP’s top police officer inspected some outposts to gauge police preparedness and to ensure that all police personnel were wearing proper protective gear.
Riaz Bangash, an expert on security affairs, said Pakistan would continue to face security-related threats until and unless Islamabad holds a frank discussion on militancy with Afghanistan.
“Islamabad needs to talk candidly with Kabul to find out what is the bone of contention between the two states,” Bangash told Arab News. “I just wonder if it is our policy failure toward Afghanistan that led Pakistan to experience mayhem today,” he added.
He said both the neighboring countries should have a lasting security pact to stop militants from infiltrating either side.
Burki said the Afghan government has been grappling with certain issues at home, however, it remains to be seen if the neighboring country has any grievances against Pakistan.
“We need to see if there is any obstacle in our engagement with Afghanistan on political and diplomatic levels or if hostile intelligence agencies have revived their bases in Afghanistan,” Burki said.
“The current wave of militancy isn’t so abrupt that they (militants) stand up and start creating disarray in Pakistan,” Burki added.
The very first clause of the Doha agreement was that Afghan soil would not be used against any country, he said, adding that Pakistan should engage with the Afghan government to ensure the fulfillment of this clause.
“At present, I call them (militants) an irritating or disruptive force but if Pakistan fails to take up this issue (insurgency) or expedite political and diplomatic engagements with Afghanistan then I fear this irritant can convert into a serious threat,” Burki warned.
