6,000 CCTV cameras to be installed in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police force is installing around 6,000 closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) in the provincial capital under the Safe City Project.  

The CCTV cameras are being installed at 800 different points in the provincial capital keeping in view the security situation and with the aim to make it a safe city,

It would also help keep a check on the cops dealing with the public. The project will be extended to other districts in the coming years. 

“We have identified over 800 points in Peshawar where six to eight cameras will be installed,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Salahuddin Khan Mahsud told The News. He said, “The purpose behind the project is to boost security and keep a check on the performance of the police. We also want to observe how the cops deal with the people and to further improve service delivery.”

Peshawar remained the prime target of the terrorists during the last almost 11 years due to its proximity to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

Securing the provincial capital has always been a tough task as it is surrounded by the tribal areas from three sides. Most of the terror attacks were carried out in the city by militants operating from the adjacent tribal areas.

Thousands of people, including policemen, soldiers and civilians, lost their lives in suicide attacks, bomb blasts, rocketing, target killings and other kind of attacks in the city.

The schools, trade centres, hospitals, offices and other buildings were also attacked.

According to the IGP, the Safe City Project will help the police improve law and order situation and prevent the cops from misusing their authority.

“The budget for the project has been approved and the process of hiring consultants is underway. The project is being initially launched in Peshawar and it will be extended to other cities,” said Salahuddin Mahsud, who took charge as provincial police chief in March by replacing Nasir Khan Durrani. 

The IGP pointed out that the KP Police had set up specialised units and improved training of the cops through the establishment of special schools.

He said the police force was now using technology to fight terrorism and crime in a bid to improve public service delivery. 

“We are also installing CCTVs in and outside all the police stations in the province and these will be connected to cellphones of the concerned officials, the district police officers, regional police officers and IGP,” he added. A number of CCTV cameras were installed at police stations and other public places in Peshawar in recent years. The CCTV cameras were used to monitor the lock-ups, the offices of the moharrars and the entrance of the police stations and the surroundings.

However, many cameras are dysfunctional due to negligence and lack of expertise. 

Many individuals and the unions of local trade centres have also got the CCTV cameras installed in recent years at different spots in the city after they began receiving calls for extortion or when any incident of target killing happened.

The footage recorded by these cameras helped the police solve a number of cases of terrorism, robbery and other crimes.