A meeting was held between Brig Muhammad Yousaf Majoka, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Frontiers Corps (FC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) Director Katie Stana to mark the inauguration of border outpost construction project at General Headquarters, Rawalpindi. DIG FC KP expressed his gratitude to INL’s assistance, mentioning that the US embassy’s INL had stood with FC for more than a decade, helping FC to reduce civilian and law enforcement casualties, cross-border infiltration, smuggling of narcotics, kidnapping for ransom and other crimes on the western border of Pakistan.
Inauguration celebrated the completion of three year $10 million project that began in 2014, which included the construction of five company headquarters, 33 border out posts and renovation of 54 security posts. During previous phases, 54 border outposts were constructed and 30 facilities renovated at a cost of $5.5 million.
During the inauguration ceremony, Stana recognised the important role that the FC played in safeguarding Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan, noting that the frontier corps is Pakistan’s first line of defence in border security. She said, “We are proud to support its mission”. In particular she highlighted INL funded border outposts in the Chitral area of KP, Mohmand and Bajaur Agencies in FATA, which provided critical protection during several attacks from across the border, from 2014 to 2016, helping to protect the lives of FC personnel engaged in countering narcotics and preventing cross border infiltration.
In addition to this infrastructure support, this year INL would provide more that $5 million in equipment including bulletproof vests, helmets and bomb protection suits to the FC.