ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and European Union Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for civilian capacity building for law enforcement in Pakistan.

The tripartite memorandum was signed by Secretary Economic Affairs Division, Sibtain Fazal Halim, Secretary Ministry of Interior, Ch. Qamar Zaman and EU Ambassador, Jan de Kok.

Under the MoU, EU would be providing Euros 15 million for technical and financial cooperation programme in the field of civilian capacity building for law enforcement and judicial authorities in the country to foster and promote good governance and the rule of law.

The capacity building programme would be completed in 18 months and aims at providing technical assistance to build the capacity of the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) and build the capacity of provincial police force of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab to handle criminal investigations.

It also aims to improve the ability of law enforcement agencies to handle media relations, support more effective interaction between the prosecution service and the police by improving investigation standards while fully respecting the independence and impartiality of the prosecutor service.

The programme also envisage study to improve the understanding of governance issue in the border areas.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary EAD, Sibtain Fazal Halim said that Pakistan and EU have long history of cooperation in various fields including education, human resource development and rural development saying that the signing of the current programme would help capacity of law enforcement.

He welcomed the EU assistance saying that the government would be providing full support and cooperation for the implementation of the programme.

Secretary Interior, Qamar Zaman said that the programme would be completed in 18 months adding that it could be followed by another such programme of capacity building.

He said that the programme shows EU's commitment for helping Pakistan in war against terrorism adding the programme would further enhance the capacity of law enforcement in the country.

EU Ambassador, Jan de Kok, while speaking on the occasion, said that capacity building has been set as priority adding that the programme would focus on federal and provincial levels.

He said that the programme would particularly focus on the capacity building of provincial police forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

The programme is designed to provide technical assistance to identified institutions in Pakistan and non-lethal equipment to ensure the sustainability of implemented activities.

It will be implemented through bilateral advice, training workshops, study tours and filed and desk research.