ISLAMABAD: Inspector General of Police Islamabad Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi on Thursday informed a parliamentary panel that the capital police were working to reshape the Safe City into a ‘Smart City Project’ in light of contemporary requirements.

Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman chaired a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior held at the Pak Secretariat, in which IGP Rizvi gave a briefing to the panel about the Safe City Command and Control Centre and its effectiveness in combating modern-era crimes.

The capital police chief said the Safe City project was the brainchild of Nadra and was established and operated by Nadra till 2019. It is currently managed by the capital police and headed by the Safe City director general.

The project was established to monitor law and order in the city and to ensure the quality of life for the residents of Islamabad. The sanctioned strength for the Safe City project was around 463. As of now, 38 technical posts are vacant, which will be filled soon with such people who would be given regular training and can do proper and required work.

Standing committee concerned over plan to recruit technical staff on contract

Police will advertise for the recruitment on the vacant posts soon, he said, adding that people will be recruited as soon as possible after the advertisement and the recruitment will be made through FPSC.

In response to a question by the committee chairman, the police chief said that the recruitments would be made on the basis of contract. Upon inquiry as to why such important posts were being made on a contractual basis, he said it was a ‘digital regime’.

‘Six wings’

The IGP further told the committee that the Safe City had six wings, including the digital surveillance wing while the Safe City was also doing air surveillance. The Safe City had smart cars being used in areas where there were no cameras installed.

According to the police chief, the Safe City project also has a software and apps developer wing to develop apps as per need and demand. It has a data link to the excise office as well. The IGP further said there was a big gap in the security of the citizens which was being filled.

The committee recommended that vacant posts should be filled as the department held critical importance. The IG added that capital police were working to reshape the Safe City into a ‘Smart City Project’ in light of contemporary needs.

The committee expressed satisfaction with the Safe City project and recommended that the project should be digitalised in line with modern demands. The committee also recommended providing details of crimes occurring in Islamabad and the steps taken by the police to prevent them.

Later, the proceedings were stopped and the media persons were asked to leave due to the in-camera nature of the discussion.

The meeting was attended by senators Irfanul Haq Siddiqui, Shahadat Awan, Saifullah Abro, Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan, Jam Saifullah Khan, and Special Secretary for Ministry of Interior Waqas Ali Mehmood, IGP Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi and other senior officials.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2024