ISLAMABAD: The chief commissioner of Islamabad, on Monday, issued a notification for the establishment of three new police stations in the city. The new stations will be set up at Karachi Company, Shams Colony and Faizabad.
Officials of the capital administration and police told Dawn the decision had been made keeping in mind the rising rate of crime and growing population of the capital.
The three new police stations will take the number of stations in the city from 19 to 22. According to officials in the police, manpower and resources, including vehicles, weapons and communication equipment for the new police stations, will be diverted from the existing police stations. A police official told Dawn that existing police stations were already facing shortage of staff and equipment.
The proposed jurisdiction for the Karachi Company police station is Sectors E-9, F-9 and G-9. These areas currently fall under the jurisdiction of the Margalla police station which also currently includes sectors E-8, F-8 and G-8.
The police stations will be established at Karachi Company, Shams Colony and Faizabad
The proposed Shams Colony police station will look after sectors H-11, H-12, I-12 and H-13 which are currently part of the Sabzi Mandi police station’s jurisdiction, which also includes sectors H-10, I-10 and I-11.
An estimated 125,000 people live in the areas which would be served by the Shams Colony police station. Moreover, the area includes a number of villages and slum areas which are turning into shanty towns with the influx of settlers from other parts of the country, especially the tribal areas.
The third new police station, Faizabad police station, will have sectors H-8 and I-8 as part of its jurisdiction. These areas currently come in the limits of Industrial Area police station which also include sectors H-9 and I-9.
An estimated 90,000 people live in sectors H-9 and I-9.
A police official told Dawn the police were committed towards making the police stations operational within a month. However, neither infrastructure nor manpower is currently available, he said.
The official said a building in Karachi Company, owned by the capital police, is the proposed site for the police station. However, the building is currently serving as barracks for hundreds of policemen.
The official said the decision to renovate this building has been made and lock-ups and armoury would be constructed. The boundary wall would also need to be raised, the official said.
No such building is available for the other two proposed police stations, the official said.
So it has been decided that a building would be rented to house the Shams Colony police station. However, no decision has been made regarding the building for Faizabad police station.
Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2015
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