ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Tuesday police and counterterrorism department officials in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were being trained and equipped with the latest technology and weapons to tackle a surge in militancy in the region.
Rallies have been held in various districts of KP this month against rising terror attacks, with protesters opposing a proposed military operation in the region and demanding that militancy be tackled by empowering and better equipping civilian agencies like the police and counterterrorism department.
Protesters in Bannu district, one of the main sites of the agitation, called off their sit-in last week after KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur assured them a military operation was not being launched in the province.
“Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has assured full cooperation for maintenance of law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Radio Pakistan reported after a meeting between Naqvi and KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.
“He said the province’s police, FC and CTD are being equipped with latest technology and weapons.”
Pakistan’s government last month announced a new campaign to counter a fresh surge in militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan. Major opposition parties have opposed the operation and thousands have attended rallies to call for peace and security.
KP has seen a massive spike in terror attacks in recent months, with daily assaults on army, paramilitary and police forces, and the targeted assassinations of security and government officials.
Islamabad blames the violence on neighboring Afghanistan, where it says anti-Pakistan militant groups like the TTP have safe havens. Kabul denies this.
