‘Capital witnesses 70% decrease in street crimes’

Islamabad police chief says no house robbery reported in capital since December 18, 2021

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad Police Inspector-General (IG) Muhammad Ahsan Younas told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior on Wednesday that not a single house robbery case has been reported since December 18, 2021, in the capital.

Briefing the committee which met with Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz in the chair to discuss the law-and-order situation in the capital, IG Younas said street crimes and car lifting incidents have witnessed a 70 per cent decrease in the capital.

He said that the documentation process of Afghan was under way and over 4,000 Afghans have already been registered. He said that an FIR has already been registered against four officials of Islamabad police who had opened fire on three students. The accused police officials were behind bars and a departmental inquiry has also been initiated against them, he said.

The Islamabad police IG said two police officials have been martyred and 11 injured during terrorist incidents in the last two months. He said despite a shortage of manpower, the police were making all-out efforts to provide a safe and peaceful environment to the citizen.

He said over 5,000 FIRs have been registered in a month. He said that salary of Islamabad police was lower than Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkwa police. He said that the martyrs of Islamabad police have not been given the “Shuhada package” in the last three years. The committee recommended that the salaries of Islamabad police should be brought at par with Punjab and K-P police.

Committee member Abdul Qadir Patel said that judicial reforms should be brought as the conviction ratio was only five per cent. He was of the view that street crimes were increasing due to inflation.

The committee passed the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2021. Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said that the bill was a comprehensive document with a thorough discussion with all stakeholders. The committee deferred the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Bill and sought the opinion of the law ministry in light of decisions of the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th, 2022.