UNIPATH STAFF
In partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union (EU), Pakistan in April 2017 launched a three-year technical assistance program to strengthen its counterterrorism efforts.
Called “Pakistan’s Action to Counter Terrorism with a special reference to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province,” the project will train investigators, prosecutors and judges in the use of forensic evidence. The project also aims to strengthen coordination among Pakistan’s National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), the KP’s Counter Terrorism Department, and the Islamabad police.
NACTA developed the program, and its pilot phase will take place in KP. Provincial and federal stakeholders were consulted during the project’s development to ensure that its objectives contribute to the needs of Pakistan’s institutions.
At the program’s launch ceremony, Jean-Francois Cautain, the EU’s envoy to Pakistan, emphasized the need for “strong international collaboration” to counter terrorism. He said the program represents the “next step” in the long-standing partnership between UNODC and the EU.
Sources: UNODC, Radio Pakistan, The Express Tribune