CTD gets drones, thermal imaging guns to combat terror

PESHAWAR: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police has been provided advanced drones, night vision devices and thermal imaging guns for monitoring terrorist activities in different parts of the province, officials said on Sunday.

Senior officials of the KP Police including Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan and Ad IG CTD Shaukat Abbas briefed Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur that seven bulletproof vehicles have been provided to the CTD in troubled districts while the overall strength of the force had increased from 3,167 to 4,430 in the last few months for effective operations.

The chief minister visited the CTD Headquarters and inaugurated the newly constructed Investigation and Intelligence blocks to enhance CTD’s capabilities.

The block is equipped with modern facilities, including an auditorium, conference room, library and offices.

The chief minister and other guests including Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry were briefed that a data collection section, data mining section, crime scene unit, and cybercrime units had been established to provide technical support for terrorism cases.

The chief minister was informed that a Counter-Terrorism Financing and Extortion Unit had been created to combat terror financing and extortion.

Besides, positions for DG IT and DG Research & Analysis have been approved to enhance investigative and technical capacities.

The officials said that Regional CTD headquarters and offices had been established across the province, including merged districts while 18 public prosecutor positions had been created for effective prosecution of terrorism cases.

Also, 314 detective officer positions have been sanctioned to improve CTD intelligence.

The officials added modern SWAT teams equipped with advanced weapons and tools have been formed. More equipment has been provided to forensic labs, along with the deployment of trained experts while jammers have been installed in 30 CTD vehicles.

The CTD teams in sensitive districts were provided with seven bulletproof vehicles while the workforce had increased by 1,263 personnel.

The officials continued that intelligence-based operations thwarted numerous terrorism plans while the conviction rate of terrorists had increased by 50 percent

Also, the average remand period for suspects had increased from 1.4 days to 25 days while bail rejections increased from 55 in 2022 to 123 in 2024.

Gandapur lauded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police for fighting the war to restore peace.

He said in the past year significant steps had been taken to strengthen CTD. He commended the police team for their efforts and announced that an additional Rs1 billion would be released to enhance CTD’s capabilities.

The chief minister said 20 bomb-proof vehicles would be purchased for CTD.

He added that the government will procure high-tech kits, sniper rifles, advanced drones, and thermal devices for CTD.

The CM paid tributes to police martyrs and their families, promising full support to the families of fallen heroes. Gandapur said the job quota for the children of the martyred cops had been increased from 5to 12.5 percent.