Workshop on Terrorism Financing for Public Prosecutors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)

30 - 31 July 2019, Peshawar. Terrorism financing has surfaced as one of the biggest concerns in the present times where tracking of the financial sources and sponsors is deemed to be an equally important aspect. Keeping in the challenges of terrorism financing in perspective, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Pakistan Country Office, successfully organized and delivered a training workshop on Terrorism Financing for Public Prosecutors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province in Peshawar from 30 July to 31 July 2019, under the PACT project. The aim of the workshop was to identify the methodologies and tools of terrorist financing for effective counter-mechanisms; and the theme was aligned with the UN SDG 16- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Altogether 26 participants attended this event including 3 female prosecutors; a relatively higher number than observed in previous workshops on CFT, enhancing the diversity of participants. Mr. Syed Amjad Ali, Regional Director for KP Prosecution graced the training as the Chief Guest.

During the training workshop four key areas were discussed, including; the role of FATF and its recommendations and suggestions to countering financing of terrorism; types of Terrorist Financing; the legal regulatory frameworks of TF in Pakistan; and the challenges faced in implementation of TF laws in Pakistan, presented by Mr. Faisal Mahmood-UNODC Expert Trainer. 

Both days of the workshop remained interactive as case studies were used to deliberate on the topics. This method helped in improving critical analysis and legal knowledge of participants. The participants also engaged in scenario-based exercises where they were asked to examine the facts and to answer questions in the case study. The purpose of the case study-based exercise was to test their understanding of more complex cases related to terrorist financing. The participants duly presented their findings and received feedback from the expert trainers. They also recognized the importance of this training and acknowledged that prosecutors can play a significant role in combatting the menace of Terrorist Financing through continuously on-the-job trainings. The content of the workshop remained focused on enhancing the conceptual understanding of the topic with a particular attention on improving the participant's ability to apply the relevant legislations.


It was a remarkable achievement by the UNODC with the financial assistance of the European Union that most of the participants learnt essential features of the Terrorist Financing and Money Laundering framework in Pakistan for the first time through this training. Many of the participants were new recruits, which assisted in enhancing their understanding on the subject. At the closure of the workshop, Mr Shehzada- District Public Prosecutor gave his closing remarks by thanking UNODC for organizing this workshop. He commended the workshop by terming it helpful for the participants and stating that this was the first training conducted on terrorist financing for the KP prosecutors and he hopes that this trend will continue to further capacitate the Prosecutors of KP. Certificates of participation were also distributed amongst the participants.