PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab provinces are launching anti-terrorism task forces.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak (left) presides over an emergency cabinet meeting October 18, which resulted in the formation of a special anti-terrorism force.
The KP government October 18 held an emergency meeting where cabinet members agreed to launch the new force and requested the federal government declare KP a "hard area." That designation is used in cases where the province wants to step up recruitment of police from other areas of the country.
The move came two days after Ansar-ul-Mujahideen, a splinter Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group, launched a suicide attack that killed KP Law Minister Israrullah Khan Gandapur.
A regular police force is not capable of fighting well-trained militants, senior security analyst Brig. Gen. Asad Munir told Central Asia Online.
"Militants should be denied space," he said. "As long as they are present in … tribal areas, they will remain strong."
"The launching area of the militants is the tribal area, while the targeted area is the settled part," KP Inspector General of Police (IGP), Nasir Khan Durrani, said. "There must be a system keeping a criminal or militant from escaping back into the tribal areas after carrying out an operation in the settled areas."
The provincial government has taken responsibility for bringing about peace to KP, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party chief Imran Khan said. "We want to establish peace in the country, especially in [KP]," he said.
KP renews effort to combat militancy
KP will begin recruiting from its Elite Police Force to fill the new force's roughly 1,000 positions.
It will perform intelligence gathering, operations and investigation on its own.
The new anti-terrorism force will receive all the facilities, manpower and resources it needs, Shiraz Paracha, spokesman for KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, told Central Asia Online. "The chief minister has given a free hand to the IGP, assuring that there will be no bureaucratic hurdles and lack of resources for the force to restore peace."
The KP government will furnish the force with the latest explosive detectors, sniffer dogs, vehicles, weapons and other sophisticated accessories.
In the meantime, the KP government is continuing its fight against militant groups and has given regular police leeway to go after those involved in violence.
"We are co-ordinating with all security forces in the tribal areas while going after militants, targeted killers and extortionists," Durrani said. "We are to fight together against the terrorists to ensure peace in the province."
Punjab launches its own force
Pakistani Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif October 18 approved Punjab Province's formation of a task force similar to KP's.
The force will be tasked with combatting terrorism, extortion, targeted killing and other heinous crimes in the province, SAMAA reported.
Recruiting will begin in November, with the first 500 men expected to finish training by February. The force's members will receive a monthly salary of Rs. 75,000 (US $705) as well as a death package for their families if needed.
The country needs an anti-terrorism force to pursue terrorists and extortionists, Nawaz Sharif said, adding that the new force in Punjab would be separate from the regular police and have better training, equipment and salaries.
"Law enforcement agencies need to show zero tolerance to crime and terrorism," he said. "Terrorists, targeted killers and extortionists will see an iron fist."
Citizens agree with need for force
The new forces will greatly improve the law-and-order situation, several Pakistanis interviewed by Central Asia Online said.
"The establishment of the new anti-terrorism force is a great idea," said Shahid Bacha, a former Peshawar-based union councillor, said. "The force must be provided the best men, with the best salaries, transportation including helicopters and explosive detectors to fight terrorism."
KP direly needs a force that exclusively carries out operations against those responsible for bombings, suicide attacks and ambushes of security forces, he said.
