Capital Territory Police may recruit 808 personnel as crime rate soars

Establishment division issues NOC for more hiring

ISLAMABAD: After the green signal from Prime Minister Imran Khan, Islamabad Capital Territory Police are all set for recruiting 808 more personnel on different scales.

Work on starting the hiring process has started after the establishment division issued a non-objection certificate (NOC) to Islamabad police for more hiring, said an officer.

The advertisement for this purpose was expected to be published within the next two weeks, they added.

On the contrary, the inclusion of 1,300 personnel in the police just after the incumbent government assumed power proved to be counterproductive as the crime rate in the city only escalated.

The sources in the police said that fresh recruitment of 808 personnel will have 12 seats allocated for Prosecuting Sub-Inspectors of the basic pay scale (BPS) and 64 for Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASIs) of BPS 11.

Further, the upcoming recruitment drive will include recruitment of 732 constables of BPS 07.

The sources further added that the unusual hike in the criminal offences in Islamabad has been recorded recently.

However, against all odds, it is being hoped that new recruits will help put a brake on it or at least curtail it.

It is noteworthy that the previous government had provided double-cabin pickups for patrolling and safe city project worth Rs13 billion. However, no downturn was recorded in the crime rate.

Furthermore, when contacted a senior officer Islamabad police requesting anonymity confided that police delay registration of cases to alter statistics.

For maintaining a superficial record, police refrain from registering cases even of heinous nature and the victims have to make rounds of the police stations for several weeks just for attaining their constitutional right.

The official asserted that the police, instead of registering first information reports (FIRs), just note applications in the daily register or roznamcha.

Thus, this helps in the maintenance of the criminal record in the district on-papers.

Meanwhile, The Express Tribune also tried to contact IGP Aamir Zulfiqar for his comment but he could not be reached.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2019.