The administrative setup in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa plans to establish faceless anti-terrorism courts in the province as part of its initiatives to strengthen the fight against terrorism, according to a briefing by the officials televised on Sunday.

KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi was also present at the briefing, where KP Secretary Home Amjad Ali Khan outlined several measures planned to step up the fight against terrorism and explained that witnesses in terrorism cases feared coming forward.

“So, we have recently sent the amendment to set faceless anti-terrorism courts. Through this, not just the protection of witnesses, but that of prosecutors and judges will also be ensured,” he said.

Moreover, he said the administrative setup planned to spend Rs70 billion on the Counter-Terrorism Department and police in a year, in order to increase their capacity.

Talking about dealing with terrorism in the policy domain, Khan noted that in the past there had been a “lack of political ownership” in the fight against terrorism in the province.

“Our armed forces and law enforcement agencies are making sacrifices in the war against terrorism; however, [..] the provincial government was not taking ownership for them.”

The Centre imposed governor’s rule and emergency in KP on October 11, citing the PTI-led provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism.

Khan stressed the need for a “close liaison” on terrorism between the public, political leadership, and security forces. He further recalled that despite the Centre formulating an Afghan policy, “actions continued to be taken in the province contrary to that policy, leading to confusion among the people.”

He also noted that there was “propaganda against the security forces in attempts to sabotage the counterterrorism efforts in the province”.

The official then spoke of the “insufficient funding” for civil law enforcement agencies, including police and CTD, particularly in the merged districts, where he said only 3.2 per cent of the budget was allocated for security.

He highlighted a shortage of over 10,000 personnel in the police, while also noting the lack of security infrastructure.

“Along with that, in the merged districts, most of the dependence regarding the police force is on former ex-Fata Khasadaars and Levies,” he said, adding that the police personnel did not receive adequate training.

He further highlighted inadequate counter-drone protection, for which the available system was at a capacity of 12pc, noting that terrorists were using drone technology as well, “due to which we are suffering considerable losses”.

He also highlighted the lack of adequate SWAT teams.

“Because of these issues [..] we have suffered significant losses over the past two or three years in which 1,003 personnel of the armed forces were martyred, 627 police personnel, and 808 civilian casualties occurred,” he stated.

More to follow