Prime Minister directs full utilization of resources to strengthen law enforcement agencies

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday ordered that all available resources be used to enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies to ensure security of lives and properties of citizens.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the remarks were made during an important meeting on the law and order situation in the country and the affairs of the Ministry of Home Affairs, held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.

Chief Minister Shehbaz said strengthening law enforcement institutions remains one of the government’s top priorities. “All available resources will be used to ensure the protection of public life and property,” he said.

Read: At least nine dead and 33 injured in Lakki Marwat blast

He ordered authorities to strictly implement a zero-tolerance policy against corruption within law enforcement institutions.

“Corruption in law enforcement agencies will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” he said.

The prime minister also ordered that all hiring in institutions under the Ministry of the Interior, including the Federal Investigation Agency, be guaranteed exclusively on merit.

“Recruitment must be transparent and strictly based on merit,” he added.

He further emphasized the need to equip officials with modern training and skills to effectively address emerging security challenges.

“We must prepare our forces for modern and evolving security challenges through advanced training,” he said.

The prime minister also called for providing police agencies with modern equipment, advanced technology and professional resources.

Read also: Death toll from police attack in Bannu rises to 15

During the meeting, participants were informed that the under-construction jail in Islamabad would become operational in September this year.

Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi briefed the meeting about the performance and future development plans of the Federal Investigation Agency, Islamabad Police, National Cyber ​​Crime Investigation Agency, Federal Police, Capital Development Authority and other institutions operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal and Muhammad Aurangzeb, State Minister Talal Chaudhry as well as heads of law enforcement agencies.

The remarks came hours after an explosion in the Sarai Naurang tehsil of Lakki Marwat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where at least nine people, including two traffic police officers, were killed and 33 others injured.

Earlier in the day, the Home Minister paid an official visit to the National Police Academy (NPA) in Islamabad, where he chaired a high-level meeting and reviewed multiple development projects aimed at modernizing police training in Pakistan.

During the visit, the minister inspected the multi-storey hostel under construction and reviewed a model room, issuing directives to further improve and modernize the facilities.

He also set May 31 as the deadline for the completion of the Elite Police Training School project, and announced that elite training for officers would now take place at the NPA rather than provincial institutions.

“We are moving elite training to a central, modernized facility to ensure consistent, high-quality standards across the force,” the minister said.

Read more: Up to 1,500kg of explosives used in deadly Bannu terror attack: police report

The news comes after a suicide attack on a police checkpoint in Bannu that killed 15 staff on Sunday. A banned group, Ittehad Mujahideen Pakistan, belonging to Fitna al-Khawarijclaimed responsibility for the attack.

According to a report submitted to the city police station, the attackers rammed a vehicle loaded with between 1,200 and 1,500 kilograms of explosives into the checkpoint before detonating it, killing 15 police officers.

The report indicates that the explosion took place around 8:30 p.m., causing serious damage to the checkpoint building. He added that the attackers also attempted to raid the facility in an effort to seize the equipment present inside.

Authorities said the vehicle used in the attack was a cargo rickshaw.