Counter Terrorism Force (CTF), with 6038 personnel in respective police departments of capital and provinces, is being imparted specialised training under the National Action Plan (NAP).
The training is being given in elite training centres, having specialised modules and specialised courses.
A province wise data of the CTF issued by the Interior Division on Thursday showed that present strength of the CTF in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) is 500 personnel, Punjab 1182, Sindh 728, Balochistan 1000, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 220, Gilgit-Baltistan 168 and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 260.
Regarding capacity building measures of police and other institutions of Criminal Justice System (CJS), the data said international partners have also imparted anti-terrorist training programme to enhance tactical and operational capacity as per international standards.
European Union (EU) is extending financial assistance to support the Pakistan’s Action to Counter Terrorism (PACT), a programme (2016-19) to enhance the capacity of prosecution, police and judiciary departments, to address issues for strengthening the delivery of the CJS.
The data said as result of implementation of NAP, pragmatic and effective steps have been taken by the federal and provincial governments against terrorist in the country, which have resulted in a significant reduction in number of terrorist incidents.
The steps taken to strengthen first line of defense against terrorism were effective coordination amongst Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), capacity building through training, use of modern techniques and equipment, enhanced operational budget of LEAs for combating terrorism, improving human resources as per security requirements in Balochistan and raising separate special force for VIP security.
It is mentioned here that after passage of 18th amendment, maintenance of law and order is responsibility of provincial governments and in view of security challenges being faced, constant support is provided to provincial governments for carrying out necessary steps to combat adverse law and order situations.
Armed Forces/Civil Armed Forces (CAFs) are also helping provincial governments for maintenance of law and order in Karachi and Punjab.