PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Nasir Khan Durrani on Friday directed the police to immediately close all roads leading to jails in the province for private vehicles over threats of terrorist attacks against prisons.

However, the police were told to block roads in consultation with the relevant administration officials after ensuring that the traffic is diverted to alternate routes.

The police chief gave the directions during a meeting in his office here, where the law and order situation of the province, especially in the wake of Army Public School Peshawar attack, was discussed.

The additional IGPs of special branch, operations and investigation, Elite Force commandant, DIGs of DCT and headquarters, CCPO, Rapid Response Force commandant and all RPOs of the province attended the meeting.

In the meeting, security of jails, identification of prisoners on death row, search and strike operation, tenant identification, preparation of rapid response force, checking of people and vehicles through vehicle versification system, criminal record verification and identification and verification system were thoroughly discussed.

Durrani asked all DIGs and DPOs to visit jails in their respective areas to check security arrangements at and around them.

He said the DIGs and DPOs should ensure that roads leading to jails are closed to the traffic and no private vehicle reach there.

The police chief said the jail authorities should ensure that no item, including food, reaches prisoners unless they are checked by a team of law-enforcement agencies to be headed by the relevant jail superintendent.

He said members of all jail staff would use only one SIM cards registered in their own name and that they won’t be allowed to use SIM cards registered in the name of others.

Durrani asked DIGs and DPOs to immediate begin ‘search and strike operations’ in their respective areas using sniffer dogs, and vehicle and criminal record verification systems and said the operations should focus on the people living near jails.

He also said the police should increase the security of sensitive and vulnerable buildings and places and take necessary action on intelligence alert after making a ‘well-calculated’ plan. The police chief asked the RPOs to check all hotels, hostels and inns in their respective areas by the relevant DPOs and register FIRs against those violating tenant laws.

Published in Dawn December 20th , 2014