An agreement to this effect was signed between Economic Affairs Division Secretary Tariq Bajwa and US Ambassador David Hale in Islamabad on Wednesday.
According to the official statement, the U.S. Department of State’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau will provide support to the Government of Pakistan in building Pakistan’s law enforcement capability.
The United States signed the first such bilateral assistance agreement in 1982. Subsequent yearly agreements have supported the training of tens of thousands of police officers and prosecutors, construction of police stations, and provision of vehicles, equipment, and life-saving personal protective gear for law enforcement agents.
The new agreement will fund several programs throughout Pakistan including initiatives to improve the capability and reach of provincial police and other law enforcement institutions through training, equipment, and infrastructure support.
Programs will also support women’s access to the justice system, as well as support the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women as police officers, prosecutors, and judges. In addition, programs will help Pakistan interdict illegal narcotics, arrest and prosecute drug traffickers, fund crop substitution and agricultural training programs for poppy farmers, and provide small-scale irrigation, hydro-electric systems and farm-to-market roads in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
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