Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has expanded its police force by more than 4,300 officers as authorities seek to strengthen security amid persistent militant attacks, the chief minister’s office said on Wednesday.
The recruitment comes as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains at the center of Pakistan’s battle against a resurgence in militant violence, much of it blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Attacks have increased since the collapse of a ceasefire between the group and the Pakistani government in 2022, with police increasingly targeted alongside the military and other security forces.
Pakistan says TTP militants operate from sanctuaries in neighboring Afghanistan, a charge the Taliban administration in Kabul denies. The province, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed some of the country’s deadliest attacks on police, particularly in its southern and former tribal districts.
On Wednesday, the provincial government said 4,306 police constables recruited from all eight divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been issued appointment letters by Chief Minister Muhammad Suhail Afridi.
“Eliminating crime and taking effective action against terrorism should be your highest priority,” Afridi told the new recruits, according to a statement issued by his office.
The chief minister urged the recruits to uphold merit, integrity and professionalism throughout their careers, resist outside pressure and treat the public with fairness and respect. He welcomed the inclusion of women among the new constables and said the provincial government would continue supporting the police force with resources and institutional backing.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which includes Pakistan’s former federally administered tribal areas along the Afghan border, has been the epicenter of the country’s Islamist insurgency since the TTP emerged in 2007. Pakistani security forces carried out a series of major military operations over the following decade, including in Swat and North Waziristan, significantly weakening militant networks and bringing several years of relative calm to much of the province.
Militant violence has resurged since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021.