KP fails to launch Safe City Project for Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and provincial police have failed to launch the Safe City Project in Peshawar where it is needed more than any other city of the country.

The Safe City Project has already been completed in Lahore and Islamabad. Nothing, however, has been done in Peshawar during the last several years to practically kick off the project.

Neither the installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras was launched nor anything else done to give practical shape to the much needed project aimed at securing Peshawar and improving the law and order situation in the town.

The Project Coordination Unit of the KP Police was tasked with completing the scheme to secure Peshawar. The city has come under terrorist attacks frequently during the last 10 years. A number of other government departments were asked to support the unit.

Under the Safe City Project, over 6000 CCTVs 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 to help police in investigation. These cameras will be monitored from a modern control center equipped with latest technology.

"The CCTV cameras are to be installed at around 800 different points in Peshawar to make it a safe city. The CCTVs will also improve the public dealing of police at checkpoints and other places as they will be under a constant watch," said a senior official.

A source said the project for Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar were proposed almost a decade back. The projects have been completed in Lahore and Islamabad, but work on it has not been started in Peshawar.

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak during a meeting in February last year had directed all the departments to expedite work on the project as it was to help secure the lives and properties of the Peshawarites. Meetings were held last year but the practical work never started.

Peshawar remained the prime target of the terrorist attacks during the last almost eleven years for being the nearest high profile city.

Thousands of people of the city, including policemen, soldiers and civilians, lost lives in suicide attacks, bomb blasts, rocket barrages, target killings and other kind of acts. Schools, trade centers, hospitals, offices and other buildings were attacked, causing billions of rupees losses to the city.

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

Police have recently completed the construction of 31 concrete buildings on the boundary with tribal areas to keep a check on any movement from tribal areas.

The CCTVs were installed in and outside a number of police stations of the province that were connected with cellular phone of the officials concerned, the district police officer, regional police officer and inspector general of police.

The cameras were also installed in Hayatabad, Saddar and many other areas. Many of these cameras are not functional due to negligence, lack of experts and other reasons.