Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has ruled out talks with elements challenging the state's authority, saying there will be no negotiations with those who reject the Constitution and the law and take up arms against the state.

Kundi was speaking at a press briefing in Peshawar on Sunday after a meeting on the law and order situation in the province. He said the government would not hold talks with those who resorted to armed violence, and that intelligence-based operations were imperative to restore peace and eliminate terrorism from the province. He said a zero-tolerance policy against terrorists was in force and that the government had reached a point where there was no room to turn back.

The governor said restoring law and order was the government's top priority and pledged full support to security forces and police in their efforts against terrorism. He said all institutions were on the same page on restoring peace, adding that the people wanted peace, development and prosperity, and that development initiatives could not yield meaningful results without ensuring the security of people's lives and property.

Counterterrorism Department to cover all districts

The meeting decided to extend the operational jurisdiction of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to all 34 districts of the province and to establish District Nerve Centres to strengthen intelligence coordination. The meeting was also informed that security forces had killed 3,788 terrorists during the past three years.

A new plan to strengthen the police and the CTD was presented at the Governor House by the adviser for home and tribal affairs and the home secretary. The plan proposes Rs59.8 billion for the police and Rs10.3 billion for the CTD, with immediate measures to be completed within 100 days and further targets within 180 days. The plan aims to improve security infrastructure, provide modern equipment and address staffing shortages. Faceless courts are also to be set up in the province for terrorism trials, according to reports of the briefing.

Funding sought from the federal government

Kundi said the provincial government had sought Rs160 billion for security-related requirements and that the federal government had supported the demand. He said coordination with the federal government had improved and that follow-up meetings had been held in Islamabad. Daily Jang reported the interior secretary as saying Rs70 billion would go to the police and the CTD this year.

The governor said the first, second and third priority of the government was security, and that the capacity of law enforcement agencies would be enhanced, with the requirements of the police and the CTD met. He said the province fully supported operations against terrorism, and criticised the previous PTI provincial government, saying it had not been serious about ending terrorism and that militants who had fled to Afghanistan had been resettled in the province. He said an integrated strategy was needed to end the problem, and that the province's policy would come from Islamabad, not Afghanistan.