ISLAMABAD: Another unit has been introduced in the capital police to curb street crime and reach out to citizens needing help in case of any emergency on roads.

The unit has 12 squads, each comprising two personnel.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (operations) Waqaruddin Syed said the squads had been constituted on the directions of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Aamir Zulfiqar Khan which would patrol in the city in the form of pairs.

The Shaheen Motorbike Squads were formally assigned duties and briefed about their tasks at Rescue 15 on Thursday.

SP (Investigation) Syed Mustafa Tanveer, SP (Rural) Malik Naeem Iqbal and other senior police officials were also present.

The DIG operations directed the personnel of the squads to remain vigilant as well as disciplined during performance of their duties and be polite while interacting with the citizens. He asked them to adopt the policy of ‘Phele Salam Pher Kalam’.

He also directed the personnel to take care of the bikes and other resources provided to them.

He said the patrolling pairs would promptly respond in case of an emergency call, and expressed the hope that street crime would be overcome through such measures.

The personnel of the squads would be equipped with sophisticated weapons and wireless sets. They will also have first aid kits.

The squads will gradually be equipped with tools to help people in emergency situation like replacing punctured tyres.

Separate areas are assigned to each squad for patrolling and vigilance. The areas have been selected after analysing criminal activities in the capital during the last one year.

There are over a dozen areas hit by street crime, including I.J. Principal Road, I-9, I-8, Faizabad, Khanna and surroundings of markets.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2019