Police Lines insufficient for growing number of personnel

Current strength of force in Lahore is 32,000, of which 8,000 reside in Police Lines

LAHORE: The Police Lines, established at the time of independence more than 72 years ago, is no longer sufficient for personnel of Punjab police. The Police Lines, located in the middle of the city, covers 165 kanals of land.

The administrative affairs of the Police Lines are managed by the SP headquarters. The first police officer posted as Lahore SP headquarters was Mirza Nizamuddin, who took charge of Police Lines on August 1, 1947. From the tenure of Nizamuddin up till the serving of SP Syed Karar Hussain Shah, 84 SPs have been posted and they went on to become Punjab inspector generals of police. The Police Lines serves as the backbone of its particular district.

According to details shared by SP Headquarters Syed Karar Hussain Shah, the total strength of the police force in the provincial capital stands at around 32,000, of which 8,000 personnel reside in the Police Lines. Their training, transposition and movement, arms, ammunition and uniform is provided through the Police Lines. The repair of up to 450 police vans and 800 motorcycles also falls in the domain of SP headquarters.

The SP headquarters oversees the affairs of horses of the Mounted Force and looks after the Anti-Riot Force. The personnel deployed at Police Lines have facilities such as a canteen, gym, barber shop, library, recreation hall, hostel, firing range, playground, IT centre, billiards room and hospital. The hospital in Police Lines comprises of 40 beds X-Ray and has orthopaedic treatment, dental treatment, gynae treatment and free lab test facilities. The SP headquarters told The Express Tribune about the daily commute of prisoners. He pointed out that judicial wing buses take around 800 prisoners daily from the city jails to the courts.

“Besides the routine, Police Lines provides all the rallies, religious gatherings, and entertainment activities that take place throughout the city.” The personnel deployed on security duties are also provided with food and water by Police Lines, he added. “The police band was established in 1850 and it performs in every official function/parade. The popularity of this band can be gauged from the fact that even after 69 years, people request the police band to perform in their marriages and other events. The SP headquarters appealed to the government to provide sufficient space for personnel at the Police Lines. “The current space is insufficient with respect to the number of personnel so there must be another, new, Police Lines built so that issues regarding the training of police force can be resolved and provision of facilities be ensured.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2019.