Khyber, 30 August 2023 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Pakistan began this year’s cycle of its flagship training of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police personnel on specialized courses of core policing functions and basic computer skills. These trainings are being delivered by UNDP Pakistan’s Rule of Law Programme under the European Union (EU) funded ‘Deliver Justice Project’ at the Police Training School in Shakas, Khyber District, also operationalized with support from the EU.

The objective of these trainings is to develop the capacity of 2000 former Khasadars and Levies who were integrated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police post-merger in 2017 as part of UNDP Pakistan’s broader efforts to strengthen service delivery of the security sector in the merged districts. More than 650 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police personnel were trained in 2022 with plans to train another 900 in specialized courses by this year-end.

The overall training programme aims to develop professional policing skills amongst former Khasadars and Levies over a ten-day residential course duration. The training curriculum includes basic investigation skills, public disorder and riot management, gender-responsive policing, community policing, and basic computer skills.

At the conclusion of the training of the first batch, Capt. (R) Feroze Shah, PSP, Additional Inspector General of Police (IGP), Directorate of Training, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police thanked UNDP Pakistan and the EU for their support. In his address, he underlined, “We are pleased to see these crucial trainings resume in the merged districts and are optimistic that like last year, this year also Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police will benefit greatly from these specialized courses. Regular policing remains relatively new in the merged districts and dedicated upskilling of former Khasadars and levies, focusing on community-oriented policing and digital literacy, is essential to serve and protect the residents better.”

Dr Quraish Khan, Assistant Inspector General (AIG), Merged Districts, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police who attended the certificate distribution ceremony, shared, “Improvement in the core policing functions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police is directly related to ensuring safer communities in the merged districts. With this year’s training aiming to train more personnel than the last year, we are looking forward to the long-term impact these trainings will have in enhancing access to justice and security in the merged districts.”

Ms Chamila Hemmathagama, Programme Manager, Rule of Law Programme, UNDP Pakistan, in a separate note, thanked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police and the EU for their support in improving policing in the merged districts. “Upskilling former Khasadars and Levies, who have been newly integrated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, is necessary to ensure a smoother transition to a formal security system in the merged districts where every citizen has equal access to justice. We are pleased to continue our support for these flagship trainings of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police personnel.”

The “Deliver Justice programme” funded by the EU aims to support reform processes to ensure the delivery of people-centred justice, enhance access to justice for all, particularly women and less privileged groups, and improve service delivery of the security sector in line with constitutional safeguards and international standards in the Merged Districts and Balochistan. The programme is funded by the EU and jointly implemented by UNDP, UN Women, and UNODC.

The UNDP Rule of Law Programme is implementing a range of interventions to enhance security and justice sector governance in Pakistan.

For additional information, please contact Shuja Hakim at shuja.hakim@undp.org or +92 (51) 835 5657

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