Pakistan, Qatar agree to deepen police cooperation, Doha to help build firing range in Islamabad

• Pakistan’s Interior Minister meets Qatari counterpart Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha
• Pakistan undertakes measures to strengthen police forces as it reels from surging militant attacks across country

ISLAMABAD: Senior officials from Pakistan and Qatar agreed to enhance cooperation between their law enforcement agencies while Doha will help build a state-of-the-art firing range at a police academy in Islamabad, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday.

The development took place when Naqvi met Qatar’s Interior Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha. The two officials held talks on regional and bilateral matters, including enhanced cooperation between their law enforcement agencies, joint efforts to curb drug trafficking and strengthening coastal guard coordination, the Pakistani minister said.

“I am grateful to Minister Al-Nuaimi for his commitment for helping in establishing a state-of-the-art firing range for the National Police Academy in Islamabad,” Naqvi wrote on social media platform X.

“We look forward to welcoming him to Pakistan very soon.”

Pakistan enjoys cordial relations with Qatar and cooperates with the country in several sectors such as defense, economic, trade and others. Pakistan and Qatar have recently sought to expand their defense ties after Islamabad entered into a historic strategic defense agreement with Saudi Arabia in September.

Pakistan has been eyeing measures to enhance the capability and effectiveness of its police force as it grapples with a rise in militant attacks in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and southwestern Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan.

Three paramilitary forces personnel were killed on Monday morning when three suicide bombers attacked the Federal Constabulary (FC) force’s headquarters in Peshawar. Police said security forces had foiled the attack by killing all three suicide bombers, who had managed to wound 11 others in the attack.