Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala on Wednesday said that his country will further enhance the capacity of law enforcers of Pakistan for countering terrorism.
He made this offer during a meeting with Punjab Counterterrorism Col (r) Shuja Khanzada. Ala said Turkey and Pakistan were facing similar problems and Turkey would be happy to share its experience with Pakistan in the area of counterterrorism. He showed readiness to support the Punjab government efforts for police reforms and setting up command and control centre.
He said public support, democratic reforms and strong will of the political leadership had helped Turkey to combat terrorism.
Both the leaders agreed to observe timelines for close cooperation in law enforcement training and technical assistance. The visiting Pakistani dignitary briefed the Turkish minister about the recent initiatives by Pakistan for wiping out the menace of terrorism. He said Pakistan has introduced effective legislation and de-radicalization programme.
The Punjab government has recently raised a special counterterrorism force. He also informed that the federal government has created a new institutional arrangement, the National Counter Terrorism Authority while the provinces are also making similar arrangements to coordinate with the federal authority.
Khanzada thanked the Turkish Interior Minister for arranging training of police officers of the Punjab government.
During the meeting, Turkish side included the Interior Ministry’s undersecretary and Turkish National Police director general while Pakistani side included Punjab Home Secretary Azam Suleman Khan, and Pakistan’s Embassy Charge-de-Affairs Aisha Farooqui.
Earlier, the delegation held technical meetings with their Turkish counterparts and chalked out a plan of cooperation, training and assistance. The delegation also visited high security prison in Ankara and discussed measures to improve prison conditions in Punjab with Turkish cooperation.
