KARACHI: A Pakistani woman police officer, Anum Sher Khan, has won the prestigious ‘Excellence in Criminal Investigation’ award at the 2025 World Police Summit Awards in Dubai, the Punjab police said on Friday.

The World Police Summit 2025 featured conferences, strategic sessions and workshops that focused on four main areas, including combating organized crime and promoting community policing, the use of artificial intelligence in policing, capacity-building for junior officers, and enhancing road safety and traffic enforcement.

Themed as “Beyond the Badge: Envision the Next Era of Policing,” this year’s summit explored critical global challenges such as cross-border crime, public-private security collaboration, and AI integration across law enforcement. The four-day event featured 12 core policing tracks delivered across four specialized conferences, covering topics like cybercrime, border security, anti-narcotics efforts, road safety, and human trafficking.

Khan said she was recognized for her successful rescue of two young girls from human traffickers and bringing the perpetrators to justice, adding the award validates her team’s dedication and acknowledges the positive impact of their work on the lives of victims and their families.

“I’m deeply honored to have received the Criminal Investigation Award, representing the Police Service of Pakistan at an international forum,” Khan, who currently serves as Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Sargodha, told Arab News.

“This case underscores the critical role of law enforcement in safeguarding vulnerable populations. I’m grateful for the recognition and look forward to continuing Punjab Police’s efforts in making our communities safer. The World Police Summit provides a valuable platform for sharing best practices and recognizing excellence, and I’m proud to be part of it.”

In a post on Facebook, Punjab Inspector-General Dr. Usman Anwar congratulated Khan on winning first position in the Excellence in Criminal Investigation Award 2025 category for her “outstanding performance in criminal investigation.”

“Talented police officers like ASP Anum Sher Khan are the pride and valuable asset of Punjab Police,” Dr. Anwar was quoted as saying.

The jury considered police officers from 192 countries for the awards in various categories, and Khan was not the only Pakistani police officer whose exceptional services were recognized at the event.

“DPO [District Police Officer] Kasur Muhammad Isa Khan was awarded second position for his high performance in the ‘Best Artificial Intelligence Implementation in Policing Award’ category,” the Punjab police said.

Organized under the patronage of the UAE government, the World Police Summit is one of the most prominent global platforms for recognizing excellence in policing. The recognition of Pakistani police officers.

QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen targeted a security check post and killed four members of the Levies paramilitary force in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Saturday.

The attack targeted the Samand post located some 20 kilometers from Khuzdar city in wee hours of Saturday, according to Deputy Commissioner Yasir Iqbal Dashti. Four Levies men were killed as a result of an intense exchange of gunfire.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault but suspicion is likely to fall on Baloch separatists who have intensified their attacks in the province over the last one year.

“The attackers managed to flee by taking advantage of the dark and the bodies of the slain troops were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital Khuzdar,” Dashti told Arab News.

“Security forces have surrounded the area and a hunt for the attackers is underway.”

Balochistan, Pakistan’s most impoverished province, has been the site of a decades-old insurgency, where separatist militants often target security forces, police, foreigners and ethnic Punjabi commuters and workers, who they see as “outsiders,” by wresting control of highways and remote towns.

In Jan., dozens of fighters of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group launched a brazen attack on Khuzdar’s Zehri town and seized control of its main market for hours. The militants had set government buildings ablaze and snatched Levies’ vehicles and weapons.

This month, gunmen killed three people, including two barbers from the eastern Punjab province, and set a police vehicle ablaze in Balochistan’s Lasbela district, officials said.

The separatists accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources, such as gold and copper, and accuse foreigners and people from other province of backing the Pakistani state. Successive Pakistani governments have denied the allegations and said they only worked for the uplift of the region and its people.