Federal govt to strengthen KP’s CTD, police

Peshawar: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Friday said the federal government would extend maximum support in strengthening the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and police of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to help it better fight terrorism.

In his initial remarks at the apex committee on the recent Peshawar terrorist incident, he said: “The province witnessed a fresh spate of terrorist incidents that needed capacity-building of its security departments”.

The prime minister emphasized unity among all provinces to jointly fight the menace of terrorism.

He condemned the ongoing campaign on social media against the Peshawar incident, terming it as baseless and unfounded criticism.

Shehbaz Sharif vowed that a thorough investigation would be carried out and the culprits behind the terrorist incident would be taken to task.

He expressed solidarity with the families of those who lost their lives in the terrorist incident of Peshawar and announced compensation money of Rs two million for the dead and Rs 0.5 million for the injured, on behalf of the federal government.

The president recalled that military operations including Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad successfully wiped out terrorism in the past, adding that “The nation would not forget the invaluable sacrifices of the armed forces in this regard”.

The prime minister stated, he had convened an All Parties Conference (APC) on February 7 to discuss ways to overcome the current national challenges.

He mentioned that invitation had been extended to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to attend the conference.

The meeting offered fateha for those who lost their lives in a suicide blast at a Peshawar mosque.