QUETTA: Authorities in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have apprehended suspects in nearly 140 cases using a newly installed camera network in Quetta, a senior official informed this week, though security concerns persist amid ongoing street crimes and militant attacks.
The Safe City Project, aimed at establishing an advanced monitoring system, was initiated over a decade ago and completed at a total cost of Rs7.5 billion ($27 million) before its inauguration in December 2023.
Similar systems have been installed in other Pakistani urban centers, but the need in Quetta was greater due to Balochistan’s volatile security situation and ongoing low-level insurgency, with separatist groups accusing the state of unfairly exploiting the region’s mineral resources. Pakistani officials deny these allegations, asserting they have been undertaking several development projects for the benefit of the local population.
The Baloch separatist groups carried out grenade attacks coinciding with Pakistan’s Independence Day this month, targeting stalls and stores selling Pakistani flags and other merchandise to those celebrating the occasion.
“Since we launched the Safe City Project, you can see for yourself that there hasn’t been any [major] terrorism incident in Quetta,” Dr. Tariq Hussain Bizenjo, the project director, told Arab News while sitting in his office, a building filled with dozens of screens showing different parts of Quetta with a provision to zoom in and take a closer look at vehicles and people on the roads.
He added that incidents of street crimes, such as car and motorbike snatching, had also declined in recent months.
“Nearly 140 cases have been reported and registered through FIRs [first information reports], and we have successfully resolved them,” he continued, responding to a question about the system’s effectiveness in identifying and apprehending suspects.
He noted that some of the criminal cases resolved included murders.
Bizenjo said the police had provided his department with the criminal records of nearly 10,000 people, which had been fed into the system.
“When they move in front of any of our cameras, it generates an alert here about the location of these individuals,” he added.
Speaking about the coverage of the monitoring system, he said the authorities had installed nearly 900 cameras at key locations in the city, including its four entry and exit points.
His department has also hired a team of 180 people, including 70 police personnel, with the command and control center operating round the clock to address street crimes or militant attacks.
Discussing the project’s outcomes since its launch last year, a security analyst in Balochistan acknowledged there had been no major militant attack in Quetta since the beginning of the year.
However, he noted that the Safe City Project does not cover the entire city, pointing out incidents of grenade lobbing, target killings and other street crimes.
“At least the Safe City Project should be expanded to cover the entire Quetta city and Gwadar, which the government considers the gateway to Pakistan’s prosperity,” Mujeeb Ahmed, who has covered crime in the province for two decades, told Arab News.
“Apart from Quetta, the advanced surveillance system should also be installed on highways and tourist spots, which are not safe for travelers in the province,” he added.
Safe City Project in Pakistan’s Quetta helps crack 140 cases amid persistent security concerns
https://arab.news/mnmca
Safe City Project in Pakistan’s Quetta helps crack 140 cases amid persistent security concerns
- The $27 million project, which relies on 900 cameras at key locations, was launched last year in December
- The top project official says the city has remained free of major attacks since the system was installed
Pakistan moves to end week-long transport strike disrupting goods movement nationwide
- Federal delegation sent to Karachi as talks intensify with transporters
- Strike over axle loads and tolls has hit supply chains and economic activity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal government on Monday stepped up efforts to end an over week-long strike by goods transporters that has disrupted the movement of cargo across the country, directing a high-level delegation to hold urgent negotiations with transport unions in Karachi, according to an information ministry statement.
The strike, now in its eighth day, has slowed the flow of goods between ports, industrial centers and markets, raising concerns over supply chains in an economy heavily reliant on road transport for domestic trade and exports. Trucking is the backbone of Pakistan’s logistics system, moving food, fuel, raw materials and manufactured goods, and prolonged disruptions can quickly translate into higher costs and shortages.
Transport unions have been protesting against stricter enforcement of axle-load limits — legal caps on how much weight trucks can carry — as well as increases in toll taxes and what they describe as heavy-handed policing on highways and motorways.
The action comes at a sensitive time for Pakistan, which is trying to stabilize its economy under an International Monetary Fund-backed reform program that places emphasis on controlling inflation and improving fiscal discipline.
“Prolonged strikes cause losses to all stakeholders, particularly those associated with the transport sector,” Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan said while chairing a meeting with representatives of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance, according to the statement.
Transporters briefed the government on their concerns, including axle-load regulations, toll charges and enforcement practices.
The communications minister said the government was committed to resolving all legitimate issues “through dialogue and consultation” and confirmed that a five-member committee formed earlier had been tasked with finding a solution. He directed a senior delegation to immediately travel to Karachi to continue negotiations and seek a timely and amicable resolution.
The government also pledged to address issues related to driving licenses, road safety and accident prevention on a priority basis, while stressing that axle-load regulations were designed to protect national highways and improve long-term safety.
Representatives of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance expressed satisfaction over the progress of talks and assured the government of their cooperation, reaffirming their preference for constructive engagement, the statement said.
Authorities have warned that a prolonged transport shutdown could deepen economic disruptions, particularly by affecting port operations, industrial supply chains and the distribution of essential goods.
