CHARSADDA / PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday ruled out negotiations or concessions for elements who do not accept the Constitution, stressing that decisive action against terrorism and strengthening the province’s police was the only way to restoring peace.
Speaking to journalists after visiting the families of CTD DSP Imranuddin Khan and Constable Kazim Jan in Charsadda, Mr Kundi said elements working against the state should not be offered concessions.
He said the Pakistan Army, police and other security agencies had rendered immense sacrifices for the country’s security and stressed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa must be freed from terrorism.
Referring to a recent meeting of the National Apex Committee, the governor said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had made it clear that a policy of zero tolerance would be adopted against terrorism.
He said decisive action against terrorists was necessary to restore lasting peace, adding that the public should distance itself from terrorists and refrain from providing them shelter.
Mr Kundi said police and other law enforcement agencies required modern weapons and equipment to confront terrorists and that he was prepared to divert funds from his development allocation for the purpose.
He added that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had assured him that the federal government was ready to provide the police with the required weapons and financial resources.
Mr Kundi said the compensation package for police personnel martyred in the line of duty had been enhanced and that police salaries were also being increased.
The governor’s adviser on information, Samar Haroon Bilour, said the police and Counter-Terrorism Department needed modern weapons, secure vehicles, tracking systems and protective equipment to improve their operational capacity.
She said sustained federal support was necessary to strengthen both institutions.
Earlier in the day, DSP Imranuddin and Constable Jan, who were martyred during an operation against terrorists in Karak district on Thursday, were laid to rest in their native villages in Charsadda with police honours.
Mr Kundi claimed that weapons left behind following the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan had fallen into the hands of terrorists. He said Pakistan’s long border with Afghanistan made surveillance difficult in some areas and that terrorists possessed sophisticated weapons.
