PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to bolster security in the northwestern province bordering Afghanistan by creating an additional 1,356 police positions, the chief minister’s office said on Wednesday, amid a surge in militant attacks targeting police and law enforcers in recent months.
Over 82 policemen have been killed in attacks, ambushes and targeted killings in KP province so far this year, according to official data. Pakistan has seen a surge in militant attacks in the province ever since its fragile truce with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or the Pakistani Taliban broke down in November 2022.
Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday shot dead constable Mansoor Khan in his hometown Lakki Marwat district, police said. Meanwhile, attacks targeting police sparked protests in the province’s Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts last month.
“In view of the current law and order situation, 1356 new police posts of various ranks have been created for southern districts [of KP],” the CM Office said after Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur chaired a meeting related to the province’s police matters.
“Of these, 1200 the recruitment process of constables is in its final stages and appointment letters will be issued soon.”
Apart from constables, the new hirings would include sub-inspectors, assistant sub-inspectors and head constables, the statement said. It added that the quota for the recruitment of slain police officers’ children had been increased from 5 percent to 12.5 percent.
Gandapur told senior police officials at the meeting that strengthening the police force and stabilizing the law and order situation in the province was his government’s topmost priority.
“All resources will be provided on a priority basis to enable the police force to deal with the current situation,” the chief minister was quoted as saying.
‘SERIOUS SECURITY DYNAMICS’
Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, a security analyst and former inspector-general of police, described the move as a “commendable” one for the long run but said the province required an immediate solution to its security woes.
“The new recruitment of police officers is a long-drawn process while the province is in urgent need to combat militant attacks,” Shah told Arab News.
“Trained police officers should be deputed on the newly created posts which will help fill the vacuum,” he added.
Shah said the northwestern province was facing “different and serious security dynamics” which were completely different from organized crimes.
He called on provincial authorities to mobilize other forces, such as the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) and Frontier Reserve Police (FRP) forces, saying they would enable police to operate from an offensive position rather than a defensive one.
“Similarly, along with new recruitments, different departments need close liaison and seamless coordination with the backing of strong intelligence,” Shah said. “This way, we will be able to control the situation.”
Pakistan’s KP province to recruit over 1350 new cops to tackle surging militancy
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Pakistan’s KP province to recruit over 1350 new cops to tackle surging militancy
- Militants have killed over 82 policemen through various attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year
- Security analyst appreciates move but says province in dire need of urgent remedy to security woes
Pakistani, Bangladeshi officials reaffirm strong ties, discuss trade and regional issues
- The statement comes after Pakistani and Bangladeshi foreign ministry officials’ meeting in Jeddah on the sidelines of an OIC session
- Pakistan, Bangladesh, which split in 1971, have moved closer since the ouster of former PM Sheikh Hasina, an India ally, in Aug. 2024
ISLAMABAD: Top Pakistani and Bangladeshi officials on Sunday reaffirmed the strength of their relations as they discussed bilateral, regional and global issues, the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
The statement came after a meeting between Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Bangladesh’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Touhid Hossain on the sidelines of an extraordinary session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah.
Pakistan and Bangladesh were part of the same country until Bangladesh’s secession following a bloody civil war in 1971, an event that long cast a shadow over bilateral ties. Both countries have moved closer since 2024, following the ouster of former premier Sheikh Hasina who was considered an India ally.
The two foreign ministry officials discussed a range of regional and global issues as well bilateral cooperation in diverse fields, according to a Pakistani foreign ministry statement.
“Both dignitaries expressed satisfaction over the robustness of Pakistan-Bangladesh relations,” the statement read. “They discussed bilateral relations in diverse fields, especially high-level exchanges, trade, and educational collaboration.”
Dar arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday to attend the 22nd OIC Council of Foreign Ministers held in Jeddah on Jan. 10 to discuss Israel’s move last month to recognize Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, as a separate nation. The act has drawn sharp criticism from Muslim nations worldwide.
Muslim countries, including Pakistan, believe the move could be part of Tel Aviv’s plan to forcibly relocate Palestinian Muslims to Somaliland. Several international news outlets last year reported that Israel had contacted Somaliland over the potential resettlement of Palestinians forcibly removed from Gaza.
“We believe that such recognition of an integral part of a sovereign state is not a diplomatic act, but an act of political aggression that sets a perilous precedent, threatening peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea region, and beyond,” Dar told participants of the meeting in Jeddah.
The Pakistani foreign minister said Islamabad considers the move a flagrant violation of international law and a direct assault on the territorial integrity of Somalia. He called on all states to refrain from engaging with Somaliland authorities.
