Peshawar Police to raise Gender Protection Unit

PESHAWAR: The capital city police are going to set up the Gender Protection Unit by uplifting the women police station to provide a public-friendly working environment and enhance its operational capabilities.

The new unit will have a helpline and a lady police officer trained in victim support. It will be connected to the 15 helpline and BOLO helpline of the Social Welfare Department. “It will be the nerve center for all the women desks being set up in the Asaan Insaf Marakiz in Peshawar. We are also setting up a daycare centre for the children of lady police officers at Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines,” Capital City Police Officer Abbas Ahsan told The News.

Women police station was set up in Peshawar over two decades ago but the facility is yet to work independently like other police stations. The policewomen recruited by the province as assistant sub-inspectors and constables were mostly tasked with office jobs to work in traffic or to facilitate the policemen during raids as a formality.

None of these policewomen could participate in active policing or lead raids and operations like male colleagues despite the fact that many of them have reached senior ranks. Only once a female was posted as station house officer of the Gulbarg Police Station that too as additional charge for a few weeks.

The women recruited as officers of Police Service of Pakistan have headed a district as well as some sub-divisions in different parts of the province. Apart from setting up the Gender Protection Unit, the capital city police have planned to shift the offices of superintendent of police (SPs) and their deputies from the police stations so the basic units of the force could work independently and more effectively.

“The SPs of the city, cantonment and rural divisions as well as their DSPs are being shifted out of the police station to buildings that will be easily accessible to the public. This will improve the performance of the police stations as well as senior offices,” said Abbas Ahsan.

All the four divisional SPs will also have the offices of DSP investigation and DSP operations of the area in the same building. The Peshawar police chief informed about a plan to revamp the police lines and offices. He said a number of offices and godowns were being shifted from the police lines to get more space for the important sections and units, provide living space for 800 more cops as well as to get enough parking space for vehicles.

The CCPO said they were working on upgrading the Data Analysis Section to enhance monitoring of police software and collect information through digital means. He added that work was underway to uplift firing range to enhance safety of the range and provide better firearms training facilities.

Abbas said renovation of offices of Capital City Police would provide a proper working environment to the officers and the visitors. Apart from offices, he continued, the horticulture work, turfing of lawn, restoration of the old architecture and heritage, work on internal roads and walkways will improve the outlook of Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines. He added used vehicles and stores were being shifted from the police lines to provide spaces for training grounds.