Terror-hit Peshawar deprived of Safe City Project so far

PESHAWAR: While the Safe City Projects for Lahore and Islamabad have already been completed, the plan has not even been started in Peshawar that needs it more than any other city in the country.

The Project Coordination Unit (PCU) of the KP Police has been tasked with completing the scheme to secure Peshawar, the city that has been worst sufferer of terrorist attacks in the country during the last 10 years. A number of other government departments were tasked with supporting the PCU.

"The safe city project for Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar were proposed probably in 2009. The projects in the federal capital as well as the provincial capital of Punjab have already been completed but work on the project is not even started in Peshawar," a source told The News.

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, during a meeting in February, had directed all the departments to expedite work on the project as it is to help secure the lives and properties of the Peshawarites. Meetings in this regard were also held last year but the practical work never launched. After the recent attack on the Agricultural Training Institute and the martyrdom of additional inspector general of police Ashraf Noor, many have felt that a comprehensive plan to secure Peshawar is highly needed right now.

A senior police official said the plan was almost ready now and practical work was to kick off soon. He added that the Safe City Project in Peshawar would be state-of-the-art. "It will be better than that of Lahore and Islamabad to ensure security of the people and establishments in Peshawar," he maintained.

Under the project, over 6,000 closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) are to be installed in Peshawar. These CCTV cameras will help police keep a check on any movement of suspicious elements and keep a record of any untoward incident. The CCTV cameras will be monitored from a modern control centre equipped with modern technology.

Ensuring security and also keeping a check on the performance of police and to observe their dealing with the public, the CCTV cameras are to be installed at around 800 different points in Peshawar to make it a safe city.

Peshawar remained the main target of the terrorist attacks during the last almost 11 years for being the nearest high-profile city. Thousands of people of the city, including policemen, soldiers and civilians, lost their lives in suicide attacks, bomb blasts, rocket barrages, target killings and other kind of attacks. Schools, trade centres, hospitals, offices and other buildings were attacked, causing billions of rupees loss to the city. Securing of Peshawar has always been a tough task as it is surrounded by tribal areas from three sides.

Most of the terrorist attacks were carried out in the city from the adjacent tribal areas. Police have also constructed around 31 concrete buildings on the boundary with tribal areas to keep a check on any movement from tribal areas.

Under the Safe City Project, CCTVs will also be installed in and outside all the police stations of the province that will be connected with cellular phones of the concerned officials, the district police officer, regional police officer and IGP.

A number of CCTV cameras were installed at police stations and other public places in Peshawar during the recent years. These CCTV cameras used to cover the view of the lockup, the office of the moharrir, entrance of the police station as well as surrounding of the building. However, many of these cameras are not functional due to negligence as well as lack of experts.