Precaution, pre-emption: Islamabad undergoes security overhaul

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Security arrangements and crime situation in capital city review
* All police stations to have CCTV cameras, four police stations to have surveillance cameras on emergency basis
* Private vehicles’ entry to police stations banned

By Fazal Sher
ISLAMABAD: Following the Monday’s terrorist strike at Manawan Police Training Center, Lahore, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration on Tuesday directed installation of CCTV cameras at all police stations and other police installations in the city.

This was decided in a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Asadullah Faiz and attended by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tahir Alam Khan, Additional Deputy Commissioner General (ADCG) Rana Akbar Hayat, Superintendent of Police (SP), West, Nasir Aftab, magistrates and sub-divisional police officers (SDPO).

A senior official of ICT administration said that the meeting reviewed the security arrangements and crime situation in the capital city. The deputy commissioner directed the police bosses to further strengthen the security of police stations and make it sure that CCTV cameras were installed there.

Faiz told the meeting that four CCTV cameras would be provided to the police on emergency basis and the remaining would be arranged in the next few days.

The SSP briefed the meeting on the security measures taken at all police stations. The measures include setting up of jersey barriers, ditches, sentry posts and concertina wires.

SP, West, Nasir Aftab told the meeting that the sentries would keep pouch ammunition during duty hours. He said people’s entry to all police stations had been directed through reporting room and no private vehicle would be allowed entry to the police stations’ premises.

Aftab further told the meeting that all station house officers (SHOs) had also been directed to prepare a list of seized vehicles parked on the premises of their respective police stations for their shifting to a centralized point at Tarlai Markaz.

The meeting also decided to further beef up the security of shrines including the Barri Imam and Golra Sharif shrines. A detailed security plan in this regard would be chalked out by the respective sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) and SDPOs.

The deputy commissioner stressed that all police stations conduct combing and surveillance operation in their respective jurisdictions, particularly in Chak Shehzad, Tarnol and areas along Islamabad Expressway. He directed the SDPOs concerned to ensure proper cordoning of unpaved tracks in F-11 and G-11.

The magistrates and SDPOs were further directed to establish peace committees comprising notables of the area and activate the watch and ward system. It was decided to issue identification cards to the committee members and sensitize them to the issues of the area.

The deputy commissioner further directed the SDMs to collect copies of FIRs from police stations on a regular basis and prepare a detailed report on comparative crime trend (CCT) in their respective jurisdictions.

Assistant Commissioner (AC), Saddar, Maryam Khan was deputed focal person for overall supervision of crime control in the city.

It was learnt that a detailed list of court absconders would be prepared by each police station and each list would be divided into A, B and C categories. In this regard, area magistrates would coordinate with SHOs. The issue of ‘superdari’ of vehicles was also discussed and the DC directed that no ‘superdari’ be given in tampered cases.

Maal Khana also came under discussion and it was decided to auction the seized weapons. The deputy commissioner also directed that the city, particularly Golra, Shahzad Town and Noorpur Shahan, be cleared of encroachments and media, civil society and notables of the area be requested to join hands with the ICT in this regard.

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