PESHAWAR — The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has drawn up a plan worth about Rs70 billion to rebuild a police force worn down by years of militant attacks, with 17,000 empty posts to be filled, a major expansion of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and a new system of faceless anti-terrorism courts.
The details came out of a high-level briefing by the provincial Home Department on the law-and-order situation, attended by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, the chief secretary, departmental secretaries and senior police officers. Home Secretary Amjad Ali Khan set out the gaps in people, money and equipment — and the plan to close them.
Where the Rs70 billion goes
Of the total package, Rs59.8 billion is earmarked for police infrastructure and Rs10.3 billion for the CTD — stations, vehicles, weapons and technology on one side, and the province’s frontline counterterrorism arm on the other.
The briefing was frank about why the money is needed now. In the past, the police received only 3.2 per cent of the provincial budget — far too little, officials said, for a force carrying the weight of the province’s security. Vacant posts have left stations short of people, and the force’s equipment has fallen behind what the threat now demands.
17,000 empty posts — and a force running short
The headline commitment is recruitment. Additional Inspector General Abbas Ahsan told the briefing that a decision has been taken to fill all 17,000 vacant police positions, easing a manpower shortage that has hit the force hard.
The plan also sets clear targets for capacity. The CTD’s operational capacity is to rise from 12 per cent to 37 per cent, while the overall capacity of the police is to be lifted to 75 per cent. The CTD currently has a total strength of 638 personnel — a small force for the job it is asked to do.
Money promised in the past has not always arrived. An amount of Rs6.4 billion had been approved for the CTD, but only Rs1 billion was released. Similarly, Rs12 billion announced for improving police infrastructure was never released, officials said.
The briefing put numbers on the shortages. The police’s protection against drone attacks stands at only 12 per cent, while the availability of operational transport is 36 per cent.
Faceless courts for terrorism trials
One of the most striking parts of the plan is the decision to set up faceless Anti-Terrorism Courts for the trial of terrorists. Under the proposed system, the identities of judges, witnesses and police personnel in terrorism cases will stay confidential during hearings.
Legislation is being introduced to create the system. The right to appeal against a decision before the High Court will remain, so the secrecy covers identities, not the outcome.
Safe Cities, smart desks and faster operations
Several cities, including Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and Lakki Marwat, are being converted into Safe Cities, with anti-drone technology and modern surveillance systems. Special centres will be set up in 10 districts, and 400 police facilitation smart desks will be established to make it easier for citizens to reach police services and register complaints.
Intelligence-based operations will be stepped up, and not only terrorists but also their facilitators and supporters will be arrested, the briefing decided. Attention will also go to modernising the Rapid Response Force, improving police training, building drone and anti-drone capacity, and acting against illegal weapons.
At the community level, Dispute Resolution Councils and liaison committees in tribal areas will be made functional and strengthened, and the jirga system will be promoted — an attempt to pair tougher enforcement with local dispute resolution.
The toll behind the plan
The briefing also laid out the human cost of the last two years: 1,003 military personnel, 627 police personnel and 808 civilians have been martyred, while 3,788 terrorists were killed during security operations.
The welfare package for police personnel has been improved, with special allowances and higher salaries under consideration, and officials promised modern weapons, vehicles, training and technology to lift capacity.
What the governor promised
Addressing the briefing, Governor Kundi promised that steps would be taken to meet all the requirements of the police, and said the gaps that previously existed between the federal and provincial governments on security matters had been eliminated. The federal and provincial governments, he said, would follow a joint policy against terrorism, with the political leadership taking full ownership of the fight.
He said there was now no option other than victory. Intelligence-based operations were unavoidable, he said, but would rest on credible intelligence. He declared zero tolerance for terrorists, ruled out negotiations with them, and said development would be meaningless without peace.
The briefing comes almost a month after emergency measures and governor’s rule were imposed in the province on 11 October, covering 12 districts. Whether the Rs70 billion plan moves from paper to police stations will now be the test — the province has heard funding promises before, and the briefing itself admitted that earlier allocations never arrived.
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