(VOVworld) - The European Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Tuesday launched a three-year technical assistance program to strengthen the criminal justice response in Pakistan to counter terrorism.

Pakistani soldiers patrol in the residential areas in Peshawar on April 15 (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

The EU and UNODC officials said the Pakistan Action to Counter Terrorism (PACT) program is aimed at supporting the Pakistani government to counter the threats of terrorism. The EU will provide the financial support of 7 million euros for the program. The project will improve the investigative processes and promote the use of forensic evidence during the prosecution stages of terrorism related cases. It will also strengthen the coordination between the terrorism-hit northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Department, Police and Prosecution, the National Counter Terrorism Authority and Islamabad Capital Territory Police.