PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) is facing a severe shortage of permanent personnel, infrastructure and modern equipment, according to official police documents.
The documents reveal that the province-wide counterterrorism force currently comprises 3,844 personnel, but only 25 of them are permanent employees.
The department largely relies on temporarily deputed executive police personnel to carry out its operations.
The records further disclose that the CTD still lacks a permanent headquarters as well as dedicated district offices across the province.
However, construction work on 21 district offices is currently underway.
According to the documents, the CTD possesses only 17 bulletproof double-cabin vehicles for operations throughout the province.
The department is also facing shortages of modern forensic facilities, locators, jammers, armoured vehicles and other technical resources, adversely affecting its operational capabilities.
The recruitment process for 638 field operators has been initiated but has yet to be completed.
The Central Police Office stated that over Rs7.77 billion had been approved to strengthen the CTD, out of which Rs7.05 billion has already been released.
Officials said the funds have been utilised for the procurement of bulletproof and armoured vehicles, modern weapons, drones, anti-drone guns, locators, jammers and other advanced equipment.
Billions of rupees have also been allocated to expand the CTD’s operational network to all districts of the province.
Authorities further stated that progress is underway on the CTD headquarters expansion project and that efforts are being made to further enhance the force’s operational capabilities to effectively combat terrorism.
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