Threats still exist after Torkham closure: IGP

Provincial police chief lauds department over its performance in war against militants

SWAT: A top police official in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday said that security threats had not gone down despite the closure of the entry point at Torkham. The situation is alarming, especially in Mardan and Peshawar districts, because of the largely porous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to Inspector-General of Police Nasir Khan Durrani.

The K-P police chief, who is scheduled to retire by the end of this month, said: “The border along the Mohmand region is not safe enough … Terrorists (easily) penetrate the area, posing threats to Peshawar and Mardan districts.”

Stressing the need for stricter vigilance over border areas, the inspector general said that the persistent flow of miscreants should be blocked, effectively thwarting their evil designs.



Appreciating the performance of the police department, he said that he was proud to be leading the department for the past couple of years.

“Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is a highly volatile region and the police department is in a state of war with miscreants,” he said.

According to him, the provincial police had demonstrated exemplary performance in maintaining the law and order situation across K-P, despite challenges posed by anti-state elements.

He was addressing a gathering of Malakand division’s police officers and journalists at Kanjo police lines in Swat district.

Durani said that the province was prone to attacks by miscreants because of its geographical proximity with the war-ravaged state of Afghanistan. “Terrorists have sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, near Pakistan’s  border with Afghanistan.”



“The K-P police department supports the (federal) government’s decision to shut the border with Afghanistan … This will help boost the internal security situation across the province,” he added.

Akhtar Hayat Khan, inspector-general of Malakand division, said that the Swat police was well aware of the current security situation and was taking steps to boost police morale and restore public confidence.

“Both police and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in Malakand division have responded rapidly to challenges over the past couple of months. Police have arrested dozens of suspected terrorists in Swat.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2017.