IGP Nasir Durrani speaks at the ‘Guest hour’ at Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday. —White Star

PESHAWAR: The religious seminaries involved in terrorism have been closed down in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claims Inspector General of Police Nasir Khan Durrani.

Addressing the ‘guest hour’ programme of Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, he said currently there was no seminary under the influence of anti-state elements in the province.

He said that there was no wing of foreign intelligence agencies and self-styled Islamic State (IS) in the province. The desperate terrorists were in the habit of using different brands for their activities, he added.

Mr Durrani said that terrorists still existed in the province but police were also determined to fight them till end.

He said that police had time and again raised the issue of Afghan SIMs as it was duty of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to block those. He said that in 90 per cent cases pertaining to kidnapping, extortion and targeted killing the terrorists were using Afghan SIMs.

The IGP says seminaries involved in terrorism have been closed down

“As compared to the past, the ratio of crime and terrorists acts has dropped from 55 per cent to 85 per cent owing to some drastic steps taken by the provincial government, following suggestions of the police department,” he claimed.

The IGP said that in the past there was no check on movement of tenants and Afghan refugees.

The recent legislation by the provincial government helped to control criminal activities in the province, he added.

Mr Durrani said that a special unit of 150 personnel known as ‘jaguar’ was selected from the Elite Force which was currently under training in Karachi to learn different skills like swimming and targeting the enemy from helicopter.

He also talked about the establishment of a contingent of policewomen, saying it was a successful experience and the training was imparted to them on the free will of policewomen. He also appreciated the role of counter-terrorism department in controlling terrorist activities by arresting many hardcore criminals and terrorists in the province. He said that military operations in tribal areas helped to control the situation to great extent.

The IGP said that he had tried to make police public-friendly by introducing various reforms in the department.

He said that people were given the opportunity to register FIRs on line, through SMS and on a simple application. He said that police offered matchless sacrifices in the war against terrorism and they deserved appreciation and other incentives.

Mr Durrani said ‘red tape’ was a hurdle to increase resources of counter-terrorism department despite the fact that its personnel were playing important role against terrorists.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2015

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