PHOTO COURTESY: OTTAWA SUN
ISLAMABAD: There has been a spike in the crime rate in the federal capital since the new government took over with over 550 incidents of street crimes, thefts and armed robberies reported in the city over the past four months.
The rural and industrial zones have been hotbeds of crime, witnessing 180 and 150 incidents of street crimes respectively.
In the Saddar Zone, around 120 incidents of street crimes have taken place, making it the third-most crime affected place in the city.
The City Zone is at four with 100 reported incidents.
In the rural zone, six police stations including Lohi Bher, Kahna, Nilor, Sihala and Shahzad Town displayed poor performance compared to all other police stations in the district over the past four months.
Due to weak police patrolling in these areas, there has been an extraordinary increase in the incidence of street crime. In the most recent incident, a seventh-grade student was gunned down by armed men during an attempted robbery within the limits of the Sihala police station.
On the other side, the Industrial Zone which comprises areas lying between the twin cities, including Sabzi Mandi — which falls under the limits of Sector I-9 police station extends up to the IJP road, which is a fairly busy thoroughfare of the city.
Sector I-8 lies along this road and has seen an increase in the number of firing incidents for the past several months. One of the incidents left a police officer dead and two others injured.
The police have failed to track down the suspects behind that incident.
It was not the only incident where even police officers have come under attack in the area.
According to police records, street criminals have opened fire on police officers in multiple incidents. Two of these incidents took place in Sector I-8/3 and Sector I-8/4 while a third incident took place on IJP Road.
The industrial zone, by comparison, only has four police stations but it still stands at number two in terms of street crime.
A few weeks ago, the police had reportedly opened fire on a young couple near the Khyaban Chowk check post, which lies within the remits of the industrial zone police station.
The incident had left a man dead.
On the other hand, the police check post on IJP Road near the Sector I-10 service road is not only considered dangerous by citizens but also by the police itself. The name of the chowk has also been named after a police officer who was martyred from firing by unknown suspects.
Over the past four months, a spike in criminal activity has been witnessed in Sector I-8/3 and along the IJP Road.
The police have failed to apprehend any suspects in a host of cases despite the fact that the government spent billions to set up the Safe City project.
Police sources said that the department seems to lack an effective mechanism and strategy to combat street crime. Others said that the police has not formally registered several street crime cases, only noting them in their daily registers.
According to a senior officer of the federal police, who spoke to Daily Express on condition of anonymity, the new government after taking control had removed former IG Jan Muhammad for not being able to control crime in the federal capital.
The incumbent police administration, led by IGP Aamer Zulfiqar Khan is doing its best to get a handle on crime in the, he said, adding that senior officials have also issued ordered to expedite investigations into the cases within the shortest possible time.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2019.
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