Objectives

The project aims to strengthen capacity of Police, Prosecution and Judiciary in Sindh & Balochistan with enhanced skills and knowledge to effectively prevent and counterterrorism including terrorism financing.

Components

The project’s key components include the delivery of trainings to criminal justice officials in Balochistan and Sindh; the development of Standard Operating Procedures for implementing the Witness Protection Act; the establishment of e-Courts; the creation of a Case Management and Monitoring System to connect police, prosecution, and courts; the development of guidelines to establish a common standard across provinces for the collection and analysis of forensic evidence; the integration of UNODC tools into police and prosecution academy curricula; and the development of toolkits on mutual legal assistance and counter-terrorism for anti-terrorism judges in relevant legislative and procedural areas.

Main achievements

Following a comprehensive skills assessment conducted in the Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan, several capacity-building training workshops were organized for a total of 413 officials, including 57 women. 19 training sessions were held to enhance crime scene management and the investigative capabilities of anti-terrorism officials. Topics included the collection of electronic/digital evidence, cybercrime, crime analytics, i2 Analyst Notebook, predictive and AI models, financial intelligence, countering terrorism financing, the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), the Case Management and Monitoring System (CMMS), mutual legal assistance, and crime scene investigation.

In addition, the CMMS was installed, customized and rollout at the Counter-Terrorism Department office in Balochistan. It is now operational and actively in use.

Furthermore, the project developed Standard Operating Procedures and guidelines for electronic evidence requests to service providers in cross-border terrorism cases, establishing a unified standard across provinces for forensic evidence collection and analysis. Additionally, it supported the implementation of the Witness Protection Act and the operationalization of e-Courts in six Anti-Terrorism Courts (five in Sindh and one in Balochistan), all equipped with modern technology and video conferencing systems.

Lastly, toolkits were developed to enhance mutual legal assistance and international cooperation and to support anti-terrorism judges on key legislative and procedural aspects of counterterrorism.

Impact

The project directly contributes to improve secure communications, expedited proceedings, and strengthened the judicial system’s capacity to handle terrorism cases while upholding international witness protection standards.

Three training workshops for National Counter Terrorism Authority and Federal Investigation Agency in May and October 2024 on the application of Criminal Analysis Tools and techniques