Project to fortify federal, provincial capitals

Hundreds of cameras will be installed in Islamabad, says the interior minister

The government has approved what it calls a “safe city project” to fortify the federal and provincial capitals by enhancing the level of vigilance and capability of security men guarding their entry and exit points.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the safe city project was initially being planned for Islamabad but now it will also cover the provincial capitals.

He told The Express Tribune on Tuesday that hundreds of cameras linked to a master control room will be installed in the federal capital. He said: “The safe city project will help foil the attempts of terrorists to target government and civil installations”.

The minister said the project was one of the priorities of the government. He said that terrorists’ attacks in the heart of the country (Islamabad) were bringing a bad name to the country and the economy was going from bad to worse as a result.

Malik said that his ministry, the police and the paramilitary forces were on the same page to build the country’s image. He said, “We will attract investment in the country to make our people prosperous”.

He said the safe city project would lighten the burden of police besides helping them to ensure community policing instead of manning pickets erected around the town. He said that police were supposed to go after criminals and stamp out crime but they have been bogged down in the fight against terrorism for which they were not trained.

He said the government would get assistance from China to get the project executed as it was willing to provide electronic equipment for the scheme.

Malik said the federal and provincial governments were hand in hand to curb militancy. He claimed that he was enjoying very good collaboration with the Punjab government and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif always proved very helpful for him to devise a strategy against terrorists.

“All the political forces are united to see democracy flourish in the country and no conspiracy can work against it,” he said, adding that the government is fully aware of the conspiracies being hatched against Pakistan.

Malik said outlawed outfits such as Sipah-i-Sahaba and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi were not only active in southern Punjab but also operating across the board. He said the government would not spare them.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2010.