Wild rush: Tenants line up to register themselves
Residents decry long queues outside police stations, short time
Residents decry long queues outside police stations, short time. PHOTO: FILE
RAWALPINDI:
Thousands of people renting houses in the twin cities have been rushing to their local police stations to registers themselves after the army launched Operation Raddul-e-Fasad.
However, owing to lack of capacity to deal with the overwhelming rush of people has left residents fuming about the slow pace of the process.
Following the launch of the military operation on February 22, the interior ministry had directed tenants and landowners to provide police with complete details of those staying in different localities and for what purpose as he directed that tenancy law should be strictly enforced while those not complying should be prosecuted.
Discussions with residents and police officials revealed that locals had started rushing towards police stations to register themselves and their tenants after these directions were issued.
The ensuing rush, however, created problems for residents who found it hard to get to the concerned officials.
“I went to the police station last week as my landlord was too old to go to the police,” Abdul Qadeer Tanoli, a resident of Sadiqabad told The Express Tribune.
“I waited for four hours but could not get inside the police station,” he said while describing the length and slow movement of the line waiting outside the precinct.
He added that he had to return to the police station the following day to register himself.
“A large number of people, mostly Pashtuns were standing in the queue outside the station,” he added.
Tanoli added that many people standing in line outside the police station complained of time it was taking to register. He noted that the police official on duty would take around 25 to 30 minutes to complete the documentation process of each applicant, hence there were only a limited number of people who could be registered every day.
He suggested that police increase the number of officials deputed to record data of tenants.
Munir Abbasi, a resident of Kurri Road in Sadiqabad said that he had rented out his house to a family. After learning about the new directions, he went to the police station to register them after fulfilling all requirements. However, the line was so long that by the time his turn came, the staff at the desk of the station had wrapped up for the day at around 4pm. Abbasi had to return home empty-handed on Tuesday and would likely return on Wednesday.
However, the rush is most visible outside police stations located in urban localities such as Sadiqabad, New Town, Banni, Pirwadhai, Westridge and RA Bazaar.
However, not all the police stations have set up a front desk for tenants.
Meanwhile, a police official at the Sadiqabad police station said that over 8,000 tenants had so far been registered at the station. He added that the figure is expected to rise since a large number of people live in rented houses in the area due to its close proximity to Islamabad.
Another police official in the office of the city police officer (CPO) said that so far the police had not collected complete data of all tenants in the city and that the process still underway.
He expected the number of tenants registering themselves to surpass 100,000 since more and more residents continue to turn up at police stations for verification.
CPO Israr Ahmed Abbasi was not immediately available for comments on the problems faced by the residents.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2017.
Thousands of people renting houses in the twin cities have been rushing to their local police stations to registers themselves after the army launched Operation Raddul-e-Fasad.
However, owing to lack of capacity to deal with the overwhelming rush of people has left residents fuming about the slow pace of the process.
Following the launch of the military operation on February 22, the interior ministry had directed tenants and landowners to provide police with complete details of those staying in different localities and for what purpose as he directed that tenancy law should be strictly enforced while those not complying should be prosecuted.
Discussions with residents and police officials revealed that locals had started rushing towards police stations to register themselves and their tenants after these directions were issued.
The ensuing rush, however, created problems for residents who found it hard to get to the concerned officials.
“I went to the police station last week as my landlord was too old to go to the police,” Abdul Qadeer Tanoli, a resident of Sadiqabad told The Express Tribune.
“I waited for four hours but could not get inside the police station,” he said while describing the length and slow movement of the line waiting outside the precinct.
He added that he had to return to the police station the following day to register himself.
“A large number of people, mostly Pashtuns were standing in the queue outside the station,” he added.
Tanoli added that many people standing in line outside the police station complained of time it was taking to register. He noted that the police official on duty would take around 25 to 30 minutes to complete the documentation process of each applicant, hence there were only a limited number of people who could be registered every day.
He suggested that police increase the number of officials deputed to record data of tenants.
Munir Abbasi, a resident of Kurri Road in Sadiqabad said that he had rented out his house to a family. After learning about the new directions, he went to the police station to register them after fulfilling all requirements. However, the line was so long that by the time his turn came, the staff at the desk of the station had wrapped up for the day at around 4pm. Abbasi had to return home empty-handed on Tuesday and would likely return on Wednesday.
However, the rush is most visible outside police stations located in urban localities such as Sadiqabad, New Town, Banni, Pirwadhai, Westridge and RA Bazaar.
However, not all the police stations have set up a front desk for tenants.
Meanwhile, a police official at the Sadiqabad police station said that over 8,000 tenants had so far been registered at the station. He added that the figure is expected to rise since a large number of people live in rented houses in the area due to its close proximity to Islamabad.
Another police official in the office of the city police officer (CPO) said that so far the police had not collected complete data of all tenants in the city and that the process still underway.
He expected the number of tenants registering themselves to surpass 100,000 since more and more residents continue to turn up at police stations for verification.
CPO Israr Ahmed Abbasi was not immediately available for comments on the problems faced by the residents.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2017.