ISLAMABAD, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The government of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has approved a comprehensive expansion and modernization plan for the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to enhance its operational capacity on Tuesday, said an official statement.

Chief Minister of the province Sohail Afridi chaired a high-level meeting in the provincial capital of Peshawar, gave final approval of the plan and allocated 12.07 billion rupees (around 43 million U.S. dollars) for the upgradation of the CTD, a subsidiary of the provincial police.

Under the plan, the CTD presence would be expanded across the province, including the construction of CTD offices in 21 districts and additionally, the establishment of a new CTD regional headquarters in Peshawar.

The chief minister also earmarked funds for the procurement of vehicles, weapons and modern equipment to improve mobility, firepower and technical capacity to enhance timely response and intelligence-led operations.

The chief minister said that the provincial government was committed to restoring law and order, adding that resource limitations would not be allowed to hinder efforts to ensure peace in the province.

According to the statement, the meeting approved the conversion and recruitment of 638 permanent field operators, who will be responsible for cyber patrolling, intelligence gathering, surveillance and field operations.

Afridi directed the CTD to adhere to strict safety protocols for all construction projects in the province and meet the deadlines set for new reforms.

The CTD expansion plan comes amid ongoing counterterrorism efforts in the province, which has witnessed a number of operations in recent months targeting militant groups operating in the region. Enditem