After we made the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police autonomous, it emerged as a professional force with matchless capabilities to counter challenges,’ said KP Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan. The chief minister appreciated the performance of the provincial police force while addressing an event on Tuesday after visiting Hangu Police Training Center College. The CM said that credit for turning the KP police into a professional force went to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. “The KP government has turned the provincial police into an autonomous, capable and professional force,” he remarked. He said that the police force had been depoliticised and added that the police force had been purged off all kinds of political influence. “KP police now have a people-friendly approach,” he said. He remarked that the culture inside police stations had been improved considerably. Referring to equipment of the police force, he said that police had been provided with modern resources such as ammunition. He went on to say that responsibilities of KP police had multiplied because of the newly merged tribal districts but the force was capable enough to meet any challenge. He said that all measures had been adopted to make the police recruitment process fair and transparent. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Salahuddin Mehsud also accompanied the chief minister on the occasion. CM said that police training schools would be set up in Swat and Swabi districts. The IG, while speaking on the occasion, said that KP police had offered matchless sacrifices to ensure peace and tranquillity throughout the province. He said that the force was ready to assume new responsibilities following merger of tribal districts with KP. “KP police have demonstrated excellent results after submitting its 100-day performance to the provincial government,” he added. He said that the number of female police officials would be increased further. He thanked the KP government for announcing more packages and incentives on behalf of the provincial police force. Published in Daily Times, December 19th2018.