Militants have Pakistan's police in their crosshairs 

A police officer looks outside the window of a gate at Achini's outpost, in the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, February 9, 2023. (Photo courtesy: REUTERS)
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Updated 27 February 2023
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Militants have Pakistan's police in their crosshairs 

  • Killings of policemen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rose to 119 last year, from 54 in 2021 and 21 in 2020
  • Some 102 have been slain already this year, most in a mosque bombing but some in other attacks

BARA, Pakistan: Atop a police outpost in northwest Pakistan, Faizanullah Khan stands behind a stack of sandbags and peers through the sight of an anti-aircraft gun, scanning the terrain along the unofficial boundary with the country's restive former tribal areas. 

On this cold and rainy February morning, he was looking not for aircraft but for fighters behind attacks against his force, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial police. 

It was daytime, so he could relax a bit, said Khan, an assistant sub-inspector, as he sat down on a traditional woven bed. But night was a different story, he said, pointing to pock marks left by bullets fired at the outpost, named Manzoor Shaheed, or Manzoor the Martyr, after a colleague felled by insurgents years ago. 

The outpost is one of dozens that provide defence against militants waging a fresh assault on Pakistan's police from hideouts in the border region adjoining Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The area, part of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, is a hotbed for fighters of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organisation of militant groups.

The threat the insurgency poses to nuclear-armed Pakistan was illustrated last month when the bombing of a mosque in Peshawar killed more than 80 police personnel. A faction of the TTP, Jamat-ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility. 

Visiting northwest Pakistan this month, Reuters gained access to police outposts and spoke to more than a dozen people, including senior police officials, many of whom described how the force is suffering increasing losses as it bears the brunt of insurgent attacks while contending with resourcing and logistical constraints. 

Pakistani officials acknowledge these challenges but say they are trying to improve the force's capability amid adverse economic circumstances. 




A police officer rappels off a building during a practice session at the Elite Police Training Centre in Nowshera, Pakistan, February 10, 2023. (Photo courtesy: REUTERS)

'Stopped their way' 

Police here have fought militants for years -- more than 2,100 personnel have been killed and 7,000 injured since 2001 -- but never have they been the focus of militants' operations as they are today. 

"We've stopped their way to Peshawar," assistant sub-inspector Jameel Shah of Sarband station, which controls the Manzoor Shaheed outpost, said of the militants. 

Sarband and its eight outposts have suffered four major attacks in recent months and faced sniper fire with unprecedented frequency, according to police based there. 

Killings of police in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa rose to 119 last year, from 54 in 2021 and 21 in 2020. Some 102 have been slain already this year, most in the mosque bombing but some in other attacks. Elsewhere, militants stormed a police office in Karachi on Feb. 17, killing four before security forces retook the premises and killed three assailants. 

The TTP, known as the Pakistani Taliban, pledges allegiance to the Afghan Taliban but is not directly a part of the group that rules in Kabul. Its stated aim is to impose Islamic religious law in Pakistan. 

A TTP spokesman, Muhammad Khurasani, told Reuters its main target was Pakistan's military, but the police were standing in the way. 

"The police have been told many times not to obstruct our way, and instead of paying heed to this the police have started martyring our comrades," he said. "This is why we are targeting them." 

The military has conducted operations alongside the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police and faced TTP attacks, with one soldier confirmed dead in the province this year, according to data released by the military's public relations wing, which did not address questions from Reuters about military casualties. 

In December, the TTP released a video purportedly recorded by one of its fighters from mountains around the capital, Islamabad, showing Pakistan's parliament building. "We are coming," said a note held by the unidentified fighter. 

The TTP wants to show that its fighters can strike outside their current areas of influence, said Amir Rana, director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank. While their ability may be limited, he said, "propaganda is a big part of this war and the TTP are getting good at it". 




Police officers hold their weapons during a training session at the Elite Police Training Centre in Nowshera, Pakistan, February 10, 2023. (Photo courtesy: REUTERS)

'Sitting ducks' 

The police in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which neighbours Islamabad, say they are up for the fight, but point to a lack of resources. 

"The biggest problem is the number of personnel, which is a little low," said Shah, of Sarband station, which has 55 people -- including drivers and clerks -- for the station and eight affiliated outposts. "This is a target area, and we're absolutely face-to-face with (the militants)." 

Days before Reuters visited Sarband, a senior police official was ambushed and killed outside the station during a firefight with militants. The attack demonstrated the firepower of the insurgents, who, according to Shah, used thermal goggles to target the officer in darkness. 

It wasn't the first time. About a year ago, the TTP released a video of its snipers using thermal imaging to take out unsuspecting security personnel. 

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters about the insurgency, told local TV this month that militants saw the police as "soft targets" because their public-facing role made it easier to penetrate their facilities. 

Zahid Hussain, a journalist and author of books on militancy, said the police were more vulnerable than the military, given their resources and training. 

"I mean, they're sitting ducks there," Hussain said. 




People pray for the victims who were killed in a suicide bombing in January, in a mosque that was partially damaged during the attack in the Police Lines area in Peshawar, Pakistan, February 9, 2023. (Photo courtesy: REUTERS)

'Lethal weapons' 

Moazzam Jah Ansari, who was chief of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's police when he spoke to Reuters this month but has since been replaced, said militant strategies had been evolving.

"They try and find more effective ways to conduct military operations, more lethal weapons," he said. 

Militants have procured U.S.-made M4 rifles and other sophisticated weapons from stocks left by Western forces that exited Afghanistan in 2021, police officials said. Some police guards told Reuters they had seen small reconnaissance drones flying over their outposts. 

Khurasani, the TTP spokesman, confirmed that the group was using drones for surveillance. 

Several police officials at Sarband station said the provincial government and military provided them and other outposts with thermal goggles in late January to aid the fight. But they encountered another problem. 

"About 22 hours of the day we have power outages... there's no electricity to charge our goggles," Shah told Reuters at Sarband. 

The station has one rooftop solar panel, which officers paid out of their own pockets to install, according to station chief Qayyum Khan. One policeman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of disciplinary action, said police use their vehicles or go to a petrol station equipped with a back-up generator to charge their goggles. 

Police said they had taken other protection measures, including erecting rudimentary walls to guard against sniper fire, and procuring bulletproof glass from a market that sells equipment left behind by U.S.-led forces. 




Imam Noor ul Ameen, 35, who is also a police employee, holds his palms as he leads a prayer for the victims who were killed in a suicide bombing in January, in a mosque that was partially damaged during the attack in the Police Lines area, in Peshawar, Pakistan, February 9, 2023. (Photo courtesy: REUTERS)

Economic conditions 

Reuters spoke to four other senior officials and more than a dozen lower-ranking officers, all of whom said the provincial force was neglected despite its key role. They spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of disciplinary action. 

Required resources were not forthcoming, and their pay and perks were inferior to that of counterparts elsewhere in Pakistan, let alone the military, these officials told Reuters. 

"Do the police need more resources? They absolutely do," said Taimur Jhagra, who was provincial finance minister until January, when a caretaker administration took over ahead of elections. 

Jhagra said his government helped the police as much as it could with pay raises and procuring equipment such as goggles, despite fiscal constraints. Pakistan's debt-ridden economy has been in a tailspin for over a year, and the country is trying to slash spending to avoid default. 

"Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa pays a greater price for that" because of its exposure to the militants, he said. 

Ansari, the former police chief, said resources had improved, but tended to come reactively when a threat emerged, rather than as sustained support. He, too, attributed this to economic circumstances, but added that things were not as bad as some suggested. 

'Seething anger' 

After Western forces left Afghanistan in August 2021, Pakistan sought a truce with the TTP, resulting in a months-long ceasefire and negotiations brokered by the Afghan Taliban. As part of the effort, many militants from Afghanistan were resettled in Pakistan. 

The TTP ended the ceasefire in November 2022, and regrouped militants restarted attacks in Pakistan soon after. 

Following the Peshawar bombing, police personnel held public protests where some voiced anger against their leadership, the provincial and national governments, and even the military, calling for more resources and clarity on the policy of fighting the militants. Ansari acknowledged a "deep sense of loss" and "seething anger" in the force in the wake of the attack. 

At the site of the blast, police personnel gathered on a recent day to remember their fallen comrades. The imam, a police employee who lost his brother in the attack, prayed for the success of the force. 

Behind the mosque, Daulat Khan, an assistant sub-inspector, and eight relatives live in cramped police quarters comprising a 25-square-metre space with only one room. Around him are crumbling, blast-damaged walls. 

"Everyone can see the sacrifices of the police, but nothing is done for us," he said, pointing to rows of century-old, British-colonial era quarters. "You see the conditions in front of you." 

Outside, open sewage canals lined the alleyways. 




A billboard with photos of police officers who died in the line of duty is seen in the Police Lines area, Peshawar, Pakistan, February 9, 2023. (Photo courtesy: REUTERS)

Different battle 

Pakistan's military effectively dismantled the TTP and killed most of its top leadership in a string of operations from 2014 onwards, driving most of the fighters into Afghanistan, where they regrouped. 

But the nature of the fight has changed in recent months, which partly shows why the police, not the military, are at the forefront. The militants were now spread in smaller groups across the country and among the civilian population, instead of operating from bases in former tribal areas, analysts said.  

The military has also been stretched by another insurgency in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where separatists are targeting state infrastructure and Chinese investments. 

The defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment about the armed forces' role in resisting militants in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. 

Miles from the flashpoints, meanwhile, police graduates receive six-month crash courses in anti-militant operations at the vast Elite Police Training Centre in Nowshera. 

The personnel, including women, learn how to conduct raids, rappel from buildings and use rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns, which they unleash on a model of a militant training camp. 

But beyond the training school's walls, there is no stationary militant camp, attacks come at night, and police are often on their own. 

Faizanullah Khan said that, on some nights at his outpost, militants call out to him or his fellow guards. "They say 'we see you; lay down your arms'," he said. 

The guards sometimes reply, he said, by firing their guns into the darkness.


Pakistan announces star-studded commentary panel for PSL 10th edition

Updated 06 April 2025
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Pakistan announces star-studded commentary panel for PSL 10th edition

  • Former England Test captain Alastair Cook is set to make his PSL debut behind the mic this season
  • The PSL 10th edition will also feature a full-match broadcast in Urdu commentary for the first time

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday announced a star-studded commentary panel for the 10th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty-20 tournament, with former England Test captain Alastair Cook set to make his PSL debut behind the mic.
The six-team tournament is scheduled to commence from April 11 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and will conclude on May 18, with the final taking place at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The tournament will feature 34 matches in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.
“Cook will be joined by former MCC President Mark Nicholas – a renowned voice in cricket commentary since retiring from competitive cricket in 1995,” the PCB said.
“Joining Cook and Nicholas are fellow countrymen Dominic Cork and Mark Butcher, while South Africa’s Jean-Paul Duminy and Mike Haysman will also be part of the panel.”
From Bangladesh, it will be Athar Ali Khan, and he will be joined by New Zealand’s former Test cricketer Martin Guptill. Australia’s two-time ICC Women’s World Cup winner Lisa Sthalekar will also lend her voice to the tournament.
Commentators from Pakistan include four former Test captains, Aamir Sohail, Ramiz Raja, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. They will be joined by former Test cricketer Bazid Khan, former Pakistan women’s team captain Urooj Mumtaz and cricket analyst Sikander Bakht.
In a historic move, PSL-10 will also feature a full-match broadcast in Urdu commentary for the first time.
“The Urdu commentary panel includes Ali Younis, Aqeel Samar*, Marina Iqbal*, Salman Butt and Tariq Saeed, who will be joined by the above Pakistan’s commentators for selected segments,” the PCB said.
Erin Holland and Zainab Abbas will be the presenters during the league matches.
“We are excited to welcome a star-studded commentary team, featuring some of the most iconic names in the cricketing world — including legendary former Test captains and top-tier broadcasters. Their involvement not only enhances the quality of our coverage but also highlights the global stature of the HBL PSL,” PSL Chief Executive Officer Salman Naseer said.
“This year, for the first time in HBL PSL history, we will be broadcasting a full match entirely in Urdu commentary – a move that brings us even closer to our passionate fanbase across Pakistan. We are confident that the combination of iconic voices and fresh innovations will enhance the viewing experience for fans at home and around the world.”


Pakistan says killed eight militants infiltrating its border with Afghanistan

Updated 06 April 2025
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Pakistan says killed eight militants infiltrating its border with Afghanistan

  • The Pakistani Taliban militants were trying to infiltrate the border in North Waziristan district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
  • Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militancy in its western provinces of KP and Balochistan on Afghanistan, Kabul denies the charge

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed eight Pakistani Taliban militants who were attempting to infiltrate the country’s border with Afghanistan in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Pakistani military said on Sunday.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in the country, particularly in KP, since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Islamabad broke down in November 2022.
The TTP and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
In the latest incident, security forces had an intense exchange of fire with the group of militants who attempted to infiltrate the border in KP’s North Waziristan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
“Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji [TTP militant] found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
The North Waziristan district, which borders Afghanistan, had been a stronghold of the TTP before successive military operations drove the militants out of the region more than a decade ago. Pakistan says TTP fighters have regrouped in the restive region in recent years.
Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militancy in its western provinces of KP and Balochistan on Afghanistan, accusing Kabul of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
“Pakistan has consistently been asking interim Afghan government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border,” the ISPR said.
“Interim Afghan government is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by Khwarij for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”


Pakistan seeks ‘comprehensive’ partnership with Russia in energy, agriculture and IT sectors

Updated 06 April 2025
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Pakistan seeks ‘comprehensive’ partnership with Russia in energy, agriculture and IT sectors

  • Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have strengthened ties in recent years through increased dialogue and trade cooperation
  • Senate Chairman Gilani expresses Pakistan’s support for Russia’s role in promoting regional stability, multipolar global governance

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan seeks a “comprehensive” partnership with Russian in energy, agriculture, information technology (IT) and other sectors, Pakistan’s Senate Secretariat said on Sunday, citing Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani.
The statement followed Gilani’s meeting with Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, on the sidelines of the 150th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Tashkent.
Gilani highlighted the shared aspirations of both nations for peace, security and multipolarity in global affairs, and emphasized the increasingly broad-based cooperation across various sectors and multilateral platforms.
“Both sides discussed diversifying economic ties in areas such as energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and IT. Chairman Gilani advocated for the establishment of banking channels and improved connectivity under regional frameworks,” the Senate Secretariat said in a statement.
“Chairman Gilani concluded by reaffirming Pakistan’s readiness to work with Russia toward a comprehensive, forward-looking partnership and extended an invitation for future parliamentary exchanges in Islamabad.”
Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have strengthened ties in recent years through increased dialogue and trade. In 2023, Islamabad began purchasing discounted Russian crude oil banned from European markets due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, and also received its first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas from Moscow.
In December last year, Russia and Pakistan held intergovernmental meetings in Moscow and discussed cooperation on oil and gas offshore exploration and refining, according to a Reuters news agency report. Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert P. Khorev this year announced cooperation with Pakistan in the energy and industrial sectors, including the modernization of a state-owned steel mill.
Gilani expressed Pakistan’s support for Russia’s role in promoting regional stability and multipolar global governance, according to the Senate Secretariat.
“Both sides emphasized the importance of coordinated efforts in forums like the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) and UN (United Nations), particularly regarding climate action, food security, and counter-narcotics,” it added.


‘No one to return to’: Afghans fear Pakistan deportation

Updated 06 April 2025
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‘No one to return to’: Afghans fear Pakistan deportation

  • Islamabad announced at the start of March that 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards would be canceled
  • The deportation program has already forced 800,000 undocumented Afghans across the border

Rawalpindi: Benazir Raufi stands alone in her restaurant, her staff and customers too afraid to visit after Pakistan’s government announced it was canceling the residence permits of hundreds of thousands of Afghans.
Islamabad announced at the start of March that 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) would be canceled — the second phase of a deportation program which has already forced 800,000 undocumented Afghans across the border.
“If I’m deported, it will destroy me. Either my heart will stop, or I’ll take my own life,” 45-year-old Raufi, who was 13 years old when her family fled civil war in Afghanistan in the 1990s, told AFP.
“Pakistan gave us our smile and now those smiles are being taken away.”

This picture taken on March 3, 2025 shows Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) holder Benazir Raufi at the counter of her restaurant in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AFP)

Ten Afghan women who worked for her have refused to leave home after the restaurant in Rawalpindi was raided by police — facing deportation to a country where women are banned from studying, certain jobs and visiting some public places like parks.
“I have no one to return to. The Taliban won’t accept us,” Raufi added, her voice cracking.
The government’s deadline for ACC holders to leave voluntarily has been pushed back to April, but harassment by authorities has been underway for months, according to activists.
Those born in Pakistan, married to Pakistanis, or living for decades in the country are among those to have their government residence permits canceled.
The deportation campaign comes as political ties between the neighboring governments have soured over Pakistan’s rapidly deteriorating security situation along the border.
Last year was the deadliest year in almost a decade in Pakistan, with more than 1,600 people killed in attacks — nearly half of them security forces personnel — according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil, a charge the Taliban government denies.
The Taliban government has repeatedly called for the “dignified” return of Afghans to their country, with Prime Minister Hassan Akhund urging countries hosting Afghans not to force them out.

This picture taken on April 3, 2025 shows Afghan refugee Dua Safay, whose real name has been changed, hanging clothing in her rented home in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AFP)

“I have freedom (in Pakistan) — I can visit the park, and my daughter can go to school,” Dua Safay, who fled when the Taliban government returned to power in 2021.
“There’s no future for me or my daughter in Afghanistan,” added Safay, whose real name has been changed.
Some 600,000 Afghans have crossed the border into Pakistan since the Taliban government implemented their austere version of Islamic law.
“They will be sent back to a country where conditions are extremely harsh, especially for women and children,” according to Moniza Kakar, a Pakistan-based human rights lawyer.
“These people fled to escape persecution. Forcing them back into that fire is a violation of international law.”
Millions of Afghans have traveled to Pakistan over the past four decades, fleeing successive conflicts including the Soviet invasion, a civil war and the post-9/11 US-led occupation.
The ethnic Pashtun belt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which borders Afghanistan shares close cultural and linguistic ties with Afghan Pashtuns.

This picture taken on April 3, 2025 shows Afghan refugees walking through a refugee camp in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AFP)

Around 1.3 million Afghans with resident cards issued by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) are allowed to remain in the country but have been banned from the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
“Over 1,000 people have been moved to detention centers in the past three to four days, while thousands are leaving voluntarily all over Pakistan,” Kakar added.
Many families fear being mistreated or extorted for money by the authorities if they are detained, or of being separated from relatives.
“If I have to go, I’ll go in tears, with a broken heart,” said 43-year-old Naimatullah, who was born in Pakistan and has never been to Afghanistan.
“They (people) won’t even see me as an Afghan — they’ll call me Pakistani. I am a nobody.”
After the deadline, Samiullah, who was born in an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan and is married to a Pakistani woman, will be considered an illegal foreigner.
“My wife will not be able to go with me, my daughters are from here. It is a constant struggle. I can’t get caught,” the 29-year-old told AFP.

This picture taken on April 3, 2025 shows Afghan refugees gathered inside a room at a camp in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AFP)

Tens of thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan who are waiting to be relocated to Western nations also fear being deported.
Most are advised by Western nations to cross into Pakistan where their asylum claims take months to be processed.
Among them is Samia Hamza, a 31-year-old women’s rights activist and mother of four, currently in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
“They gave us a support letter but the Pakistani police does not recognize it,” she told AFP.
“We need to stay one more month in Pakistan, then we will receive our visa to Brazil and leave.”


European experts to arrive in Islamabad tomorrow to train Pakistani aviation inspectors

Updated 06 April 2025
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European experts to arrive in Islamabad tomorrow to train Pakistani aviation inspectors

  • Pakistan has recently witnessed a massive surge in militant violence, including deadly suicide attacks
  • The development comes months after EU lifted its ban on PIA and authorized Airblue to fly to the bloc

ISLAMABAD: A team from the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) will arrive in Islamabad on Monday to provide specialized security training and certification to Pakistani aviation inspectors, a Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) official said on Sunday, amid growing security concerns in the South Asian country.
Pakistan has recently witnessed a massive surge in militant violence, including deadly suicide attacks, in its two western provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2025 report, Pakistan is the second-most affected country by terrorist violence, with a 45 percent rise in deaths in 2024.
Pakistan reached out to the ECAC for the training of its civil aviation inspectors after the resumption of Pakistani flights to the EU in Jan. this year, according to PCAA officials.
“The ECAC team is arriving in Pakistan tomorrow to conduct training of our inspectors on two key areas of Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) and Explosive Detection Dogs (EDD),” PCAA Director of Aviation Security Shahid Qadir told Arab News.
“The training aims to enhance their ability to inspect explosive detection machines as well as guide the handlers of detection dogs on key focus areas and essential elements to ensure the highest standards of inspection.”
In November, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) lifted its ban on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and authorized another local airline, Airblue, to operate flights to Europe. The ban had been in place since June 2020 due to concerns over the ability of Pakistani aviation authorities to meet international standards.
Qadir said the PCAA was committed to meeting all international standards and it was ensuring the credentials of Pakistani inspectors align with those of developed countries in Europe and the United States.
“The two-member ECAC team will conduct a four-day training at Islamabad International Airport, where twelve of our aviation security regulatory inspectors will receive the training,” the official said.
“They will conduct the training and certify the inspectors upon its completion.”
He said this training would enhance the Pakistani team’s specialization and strengthen the country’s credibility, urging aviation inspectors to apply across all airports in Pakistan.
Aviation security is the most frequently inspected area each year, according to Qadir. During such inspections, one of the first things international regulators review is the profile of inspectors.
“When they see the courses, training, and certifications our inspectors have completed, they recognize that we meet international standards,” he added.