In light of growing security concerns, Islamabad police issued on Tuesday a “special” plan that introduces 25 temporary checkposts in the city and requires citizens and foreigners to carry their identification documents with them.
According to the security plan, shared on Islamabad police’s official Twitter, entry points of the Red Zone will be recorded via Safe City cameras while video surveillance of metro bus passengers would also be conducted.
Police asked the capital’s citizens, as well as foreigners, to carry their identification documents with them.
Authorities also warned of action over non-specimen number plates and unregistered vehicles, directing citizens to ensure their vehicles had number plates issued by the excise office.
Measures under this plan also require landlords and employers to register their tenants and employees at a nearby police station or khidmat marakiz (facilitation centres).
Police said citizens who had employed unregistered local or foreign workers would also be investigated.
They appealed to citizens to inform authorities of any unusual activity on the 15-helpline.
This plan has been devised as Pakistan continues to see a rise in terror incidents in recent days, particularly after the militant Tehereek-i-Taliban Pakistan called off the ceasefire between them and the government in late November.
Last Friday, a bomb blast in the capital’s I-10 sector claimed the life of a police constable and left six others injured — the first major incident of terrorism in Islamabad following the onset of the recent wave of militancy that was initially limited to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Two days after the blast, the US embassy in Islamabad had issued a security alert, prohibiting its staff from visiting the city’s Marriott Hotel due to concerns of a “possible attack”.
The same day, Islamabad police had raised security to high alert in the capital.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Australia issued separate security alerts on Monday, asking their citizens to limit their movement in Pakistan.
