ISLAMABAD: As the Safe City Authority’s software linked to the Operations Division of the Islamabad police went under surprise upgradation in May this year, Dawn has learned that the software is “being shown as inoperational to stop the outflow of information, such as criminal activities, to the media.

The software under question is the one which generates reports about criminal incidents and other police activities and disseminates the same to the police officers, from Deputy Inspector General of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police, Zonal Superintendents of Police, Sub-Divisional police officers, and Station House Officers.

Police spokesperson Taqi Jawad told Dawn that the upgradation of the system was in progress on the order of IGP Ali Nasir Rizvi and the various functions of the system, including the ones that deal with the operations wing and pertained to crime details, were shut down on May 23.

On May 25, the spokesperson had claimed the system was shut down as a precautionary measure after a “hacking” attempt but on Tuesday he contradicted himself and said there was no such attempt and the system was not functional due to upgradation. Due to the upgrade, login and passwords for the users were suspended without their knowledge.

Spokesperson says system being upgraded

“However, the users were not aware of the suspension of the login and passwords and they made multiple attempts to log in,” the spokesperson said, adding that as a result, the firewall issued alerts that attempts were underway to intrude the system. “The upgradation of the software is still in progress,” he added.

Sources, however, alleged the IGP wanted to keep a lid on information and the system was being shown as inoperational for the same reason.

They also contested the claim of the police spokesperson that the system had been shut down for upgradation.

They claimed that the prime minister and the interior minister asked the IGP to ensure the 100 per cent registration of cases in Islamabad in light of an uptick in crime across the federal capital. Besides, the IGP was also asked to ensure registration of the case under the relevant laws, and the practice of managing the crime statistics should be stopped, they added.

Sources claimed that one of the reasons behind the gatekeeping of the information was the bad repute it brought to the police. “Leaking of information about the theft of telephone cables from outside the official residences of Islamabad IGP and the commissioner exposed the police efforts of crime fighting and raised several eyebrows,” they added.

Sources had alleged that the software was shut down to conceal details which showed a sharp increase in the crime rate, but the spokesperson said there was no truth to these allegations. He, however, appeared reluctant to share the latest data about crime when asked for the same.

Similarly, the government was also unhappy about a report which disclosed that six FIRs, including five against the PTI, were sealed by the capital police, sources said, adding that the quarters concerned asked about contradictions in the content of FIRs, police statements, and PRO’s versions over the encounters with the suspects.

IGP Islamabad Syed Nasir Ali Rizvi was also approached for comments through a message, but he did not respond till this report went to press.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2024