IGP pledges steps to counter security challenges

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur on Friday vowed to reorganise the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) to effectively deal with the security challenges.

Talking to senior journalists at the Central Police Office (CPO) here, he said that incidents of terrorism and attacks on police had increased in KP in the last five months.

He was referring to the last four months of 2022 and the first month of 2023 during which he added that about 300 policemen lost their lives.

The IGP said that only in January 62 cops were martyred, which showed the gravity of the situation but the police force was committed to facing the challenges with courage and bravery. “The CTD is being organized with the creation of more senior level posts in order to improve the management and vigilance system,” he added.

Like the provincial capital where two new police divisions and a sub-division have been created bifurcation of other divisions was also on the cards to improve the surveillance, he added.

“We are planning to divide the Malakand division and post one CTD Superintendent of Police (SP) for District Malakand, Lower Dir, Upper Dir and Lower and Upper Chitral and one for Swat, Buner and Shangla. Likewise, in Hazara one each SP will be posted at Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Battagram and Kohistan, one each for DI Khan and Tank and Bannu, Kohat and Mardan divisions would also be divided for better policing,” he said.

Akhtar Hayat said since he had served on different positions right from SP to RPO (regional police officer) in almost all areas of the province that’s why he was aware of the local environment and conditions of respective areas.

To a question about shortage of senior level police officers, he said besides recalling from other provinces deserving DSPs would be promoted to overcome the shortage.

The IGP said that instead of a conventional method of checking, they were concentrating on technological use of the latest devices to strengthen the vigilance system.

He said reorganization of CTD on modern lines and posting of senior level officers would ensure proper talking of criminals including street crimes and presence of police force especially at peripheries and attacks on police in rural areas.

“We are facing a perception war and the media can play a vital role in supporting and encouraging the police in this joint struggle against terrorism,” he stated and added along with mainstream media social media role was also important to counter negativity in the society.

The IGP said police force would be trained how to repulse an attack tactically and save their own life.

The police chief was optimistic about the commitment and courage of his force to meet the challenges and maintain law and order

situation.