ISLAMABAD: The government has decided in principle to relocate the headquarters of the Fed­e­ral Constabulary from Pe­­shawar to Islamabad, ap­­proximately two months after the civilian paramilitary force was officially renamed from the Fron­tier Constabulary.

Federal Interior Minis­ter Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday instructed officials to identify suitable land for the new headquarters and sought a master plan for the facilities, according to a statement released after a meeting at the Capital Development Authority.

He emphasised that while identifying the land, the requirements for both headquarters and training facilities should be given special consideration.

The meeting was also attended by Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, the federal secretary of interior, the chairman of the CDA and senior police and constabulary officials.

“The Federal Constabu­lary will be developed on modern foundations with the aim of transforming it into a well-structured and highly effective force,” Mr Naqvi said.

The move follows Presi­dent Asif Ali Zardari’s promulgation in July of the Frontier Constabulary Reorganisation Ordinance 2025, which officially renamed the force.

The ordinance extends the Federal Constabu­la­ry’s jurisdiction across the entire country, including all four provinces, Isla­m­abad, Azad Jammu and Ka­­shmir, and Gilgit-Bal­tis­tan. Under the new fra­mework, the federal government will appoint the inspector general of the Federal Constabulary.

Each division will also have a wing commander, who will hold a rank eq­­uivalent to a deputy ins­pector general. Further­­more, officers from the Police Service of Pakistan will command the force.

The force’s responsibilities will include riot control, internal security, counter-terrorism and protection services. It will also have powers under the Criminal Procedure Code of 1898, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 and the Police Order of 2002.

The federal government will control the force and can deploy the constabulary as a reserve force to support Islamabad police, provincial police and other law enforcement agencies.

The effort to reform the force is not new. In 2018, then-interior minister Ahsan Iqbal said the federal government was considering a proposal to upgrade the Frontier Constabulary to bring the force and incentives for its personnel on par with those of other civilian law enforcement agencies.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2025