ISLAMABAD, April 29: The government has approved a plan to computerize all police stations in the country to get updated information about high-profile cases and assess the performance of each police station separately, a source in the interior ministry told Dawn.

The source said the decision in this respect was taken at a high-level meeting held in the interior ministry. The meeting was presided over by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao.

The meeting was informed that following the computerization of police stations, they would be inter-linked with the National Police Bureau (NPB) which would closely monitor the performance of each police station in the country.

According to the statistics of National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) there are 12,080 police stations in the country. However, 95 per cent of the area in Balochistan province is known as ‘B Area’ where there is no police system at all.

The meeting stressed the need of keenly monitoring the activities of those released from Guantanamo Bay.

It was disclosed at the meeting that the persons set free from the US detention facility in Cuba were still involved in terrorist activities in the country.

The FIA director-general told the meeting that his agency could help net terrorists and hardened criminals by intercepting their mobile telephone calls and e-mails.

He said a recently established special cell in the FIA had been equipped with sophisticated technology to intercept mobile telephones calls and e-mails.

The participants of the meeting expressed concern over non-repatriation of Afghan refugees as they said that most Afghan refugees were involved in heinous crimes.

The interior minister said the meeting stressed the need of tightening security of prisoners of high-profile cases.

He said he directed the authorities of prisons to expand the capacity of jails and keep prisoners involved in high-profile cases away from ordinary inmates.

The meeting, he said, also took serious note of increasing incidents of gang rape, kidnapping for ransom, human smuggling and the poor law and order situation in Balochistan.

It also called for early disposal of cases being tried in anti-terrorism courts.