A new study says Pakistan needs to overhaul its police force to make it more effective in the fight against growing violence.

The report, to be issued Monday by the U.S.-based Asia Society, urges Pakistan to step up police training and invest in better equipment. It also calls for reforms to reduce corruption within the police as a way of regaining the trust of ordinary citizens.

Asia Society adviser Hassan Abbas, a professor at the National Defense University in Washington, told VOA Sunday that strengthening law enforcement is essential to improving any country's governance. He also said there can be no democracy without the rule of law.

Abbas said the police are more instrumental in fighting terrorism than the military, and he called for more international assistance for Pakistan's police force.