PESHAWAR, March 9: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to shift the responsibility of issuing driving licences from police to the transport department.

The decision was made during a meeting held here on Friday with transport and information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain in the chair.

Participants decided that in future, the police’s licence branch would work under the supervision of the transport department.

They also accepted the information technology minister’s proposal of extending the computerised driving licence project’s duration for two years, saying it will enable the transport department to build its staff’s capacity.

The project was set to expire in June 2012.

Participants also approved the shifting of the driving licence project’s ADP from the IT department to the transport department.

The transport minister told the meeting that the transport department’s powers were gradually being restored to streamline traffic system in the province.

“In the next phase, powers of registration of motor vehicles will be taken from the excise department and will be given to the transport department. The transport department has completed its work in this respect,” he said.

Meanwhile, the US on Friday distributed criminal investigation training certificates to 20 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police officers during a ceremony at Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines.

“The programme will bolster Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police’s ability to counter terrorists throughout the province,” said US police adviser to provincial police John Puckett.

The said officers were the first batch of the provincial police investigation department to complete the training. They graduated from a ‘Basic Criminal Investigation Course’ designed to increase their investigative capabilities.

The 30 weeks long training is part of a Police Assistance Programme (PSP) sponsored by the US State Department’s narcotics affairs section.

“The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police need this programme to counter militancy and terrorism in the province, which they have been fighting for the past several years and for which they have laid down their lives,” additional inspector general (investigation) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police Masood Afridi told participants. — APP