PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed on Wednesday said that his department lacked modern equipment to fight terrorism, the toughest challenge the province faces.

On Jan 15, 2023, the then police chief, Moazzam Jah Ansari, had pointed out that terrorists in the province had acquired modern gadgets to carry out their activities.

“Sniper weapons or night vision devices were used for the first time by terrorists in Peshawar,” Mr Ansari said after a deputy superintendent of police was martyred along with his guards in a terrorist attack on the Sarband police station.

Now, almost two years later, the situation is unchanged, with the current IGP revealing that terrorists are using advanced weaponry, even quadcopters, in the province, which the local police are unable to counter due to a lack of equipment.

Hameed says police will move from defensive position to offensive one in near future

“They [terrorists] have acquired the latest US weapons and modern gadgets. They’re carrying out quadcopter attacks. If we don’t advance, how we will fight back since we don’t have anti-quadcopter technology,” Mr Hameed told Dawn.

The IGP, who recently assumed his office, said terrorist attacks could no longer be countered with the help of conventional weapons as terrorists were using modern gadgets to carry out their activities.

He said that the police’s counter-terrorism department was more advanced in Punjab than in KP though the situation in Punjab was not as volatile as it was in KP.

Mr Hameed said that the CTD in KP would be developed like the department functioning in other provinces.

“As time changes, you should also change. Technological gains are an edge in this war,” he said.

The police chief said that currently, the police could be in a defensive position but the department had planned to move to the offensive position in the near future.

He said that terrorism was a severe form of crime due to targeted killings and attacks on police establishments.

“It’s an ongoing war and we have to face it,” he said.

The IGP rejected a claim by a lawmaker from Dera Ismail Khan that terrorists control areas in his native district.

He said he never believed terrorists could or would be in a position to control any area in the province.

“If there is an issue somewhere, it does not mean we have lost control of that area. We have seen worse days but overcome them. Today’s law and order situation is not as volatile as it was between 2008 and 2015,” he said.

When asked about a spike in terrorist attacks in the province, the police chief said the ratio had gone up with the growing number of people coming to Pakistan. He, however, didn’t name any country.

Mr Hameed said terrorists would never be able to carry out attacks without some public support.

“If they [terrorists] are being supported, offered meals and given shelter, it is problematic,” he said.

About the Islamic State Khorasan’s presence in the province, the police chief pointed out that based on evidence, the banned radical outfit functioned in the Bajaur tribal district, which bordered Afghanistan.

He also said that several religious leaders had been attacked, and the department had leads but they’re “not mature.”

When asked about possible talks between the Pakistani and interim Afghan governments to stop terrorists from using the Afghan soil for carrying out attacks in Pakistan, Mr Hameed refused to offer comments.

“It is an issue between the two governments. They will do anything they consider suitable,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2025