Police in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province say direct access to the country's biometric database will improve their chances of catching suspected militants.Inspector General of Police Nasir Khan Durrani has proposed that the state's police, as well as civil and military law enforcement agencies (LEAs), be given direct access to the National Database and Registration Authority's (NADRA's) verification system (Verisys), automated fingerprint identification system and facial recognition systems.Durrani stressed that the police and LEAs need the access to keep a close and timely watch on all suspects residing in a particular area.His comments come in the wake of a brutal attack by Pakistani Taliban militants on the army-run school in the province that killed 150 people, mostly children.Last week, officials also set a new a 90-day deadline for all mobile phone SIMs in the country to be verified using biometrics – also with the aim of tackling militancy,The government has said that up to 30 million SIMs that are currently un-verified will be blocked after the deadline is reached on 14 April.By 2014, Pakistan had issued biometric national ID cards to 98 million citizens aged over 18 – it has a population of over 182 million.

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