Authorities plan faceless courts in K-P

Governor Kundi says people taking up arms against state to be responded in kind

PESHAWAR:

The authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) plan to establish faceless anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) to ensure speedy and effective trials in terrorism cases and protect judges and witnesses, as part of a broader strategy to strengthen the province's counterterrorism response.

The proposal was discussed on Sunday during a briefing on the province's overall security situation, challenges faced by law enforcement agencies and future strategy at the Governor House in Peshawar.

Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, provincial advisers, senior civil and police officers, and media representatives attended the meeting.

Adviser on Home and Tribal Affairs Kifayatullah Khan and Home Secretary Amjad Ali Khan briefed participants on the security situation, problems faced by the police and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), available resources and future plans. A question-and-answer session followed.

According to the briefing, proposed faceless ATCs are intended to help ensure effective and timely justice in terrorism cases while safeguarding witnesses. A faceless court, also known as a faceless judge, is a special court of justice, created within the system of certain jurisdictions, responsible for the prosecution and trial of crimes generally linked to drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime.

These courts are used within judicial systems that cannot guarantee the security and physical integrity of judicial officials. In these courts, the judges are anonymous and their identity is unknown.

The briefing also outlined measures to improve police capacity, modernise security infrastructure and strengthen coordination among relevant institutions.

Participants were informed that between 2024 and September 2026, 1,003 members of the armed forces, 627 police personnel and 808 civilians had been killed in the war against terrorism. In 2026 alone, up to September, fatalities included 255 military personnel, 302 policemen and 304 civilians.

Despite the difficult circumstances and heavy sacrifices, security forces had killed 3,788 terrorists over the past three years, the briefing was told.

Officials highlighted substantial manpower and equipment shortages within the provincial police. They said the PTI's provincial government had allocated only 3.2 per cent of the overall security budget to the merged districts.

The federal government on October 11 suspended the K-P government by imposing emergency and governor's rule in the terrorism-hit province.

They said the K-P police were facing a shortage of 10,587 personnel, while the CTD had a shortfall of 638 officials. The police also faced a 36 per cent shortage of operational vehicles, and only 12 per cent of the force had access to anti-drone systems.

The briefing further revealed that most of the 15,186 former Khassadar personnel absorbed into the police force were illiterate, creating additional challenges in their training and capacity-building.

Delays in the release of funds for restoring counterterrorism infrastructure were also highlighted. Of the Rs6.4 billion approved for this purpose, only Rs1 billion had so far been released.

Under the proposed Stronger Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa plan, the province aims to allocate Rs70 billion for security, including Rs59.8 billion for the police and Rs10.3 billion for the CTD. This compares with a total of Rs98 billion spent on the security sector over the preceding 10 years.

The plan envisages increasing the police force's fortification capacity to 75 per cent, improving its surveillance capability from 15 to 60 per cent and raising its capacity to conduct night operations from 18 to 50 per cent.

It also aims to enhance the police's anti-drone capability from one to 50 per cent, increase the armouring capacity of CTD vehicles from 16 to 70 per cent and raise the availability of jammers from three to 50 per cent. The CTD's operational jurisdiction is to be extended to all 34 districts.

Officials said district nerve centres and Safe City authorities would be established in 10 districts, while the police manpower shortfall would be reduced from 15 to five per cent.

The proposed strategy also includes using artificial intelligence to counter what the briefing described as false and fabricated narratives on social media. Smart front desks are planned at 406 police stations in major cities across the province.

To improve law and order and resolve public grievances at the local level, the government plans to establish dispute resolution councils and tribal liaison committees in all districts. Monthly open forums and regular jirgas would also be held to strengthen public engagement and address local disputes.

The briefing further proposed a substantial increase in the compensation package for personnel killed in the line of duty and the security challenge allowance to boost the morale of security forces engaged in the fight against terrorism.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Kundi said elements taking up arms against the state would be responded to in the same language, adding that a zero-tolerance policy was in place against terrorists.

He said development projects, roads and bridges could be useful only when people's lives were secure. Restoring public confidence and strengthening contact between the police and the public could win half the battle against terrorism, he added.

Kundi said engaging the province's youth in positive activities was a priority and stressed that there was no option of defeat or retreat in the war against terrorism.

The briefing identified improvement of the security situation, enhancement of police and CTD capacity, use of modern technology and effective coordination among institutions as key elements of the province's future strategy.