Murree cops accused of tourist harassment

Locals have accused the highway patrol police personnel of Murree of being involved in harassing the tourists as well as local dignitaries on various pretexts.

Condemning the behaviour of the patrolling police personnel, Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajran Murree President Raja Tufail Ikhlaq Abbasi Sunday said he witnessed it first-hand when he arrived at a tourist spot where “the policemen were harassing a tourist family without any reason”.

He further said the famous religious, political and social personality, Ittehad Bainul Muslimeen Pakistan President Wafaul Haq Bukhari, was humiliated on the pretext of checking the illegal Afghans by putting up a barricade at 17 miles at 12 O'clock.

Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajran president Tufail Abbasi, General Secretary Raja Akmal Nawaz, Senior Vice President Wajid Abbasi, Joint Secretary Amir Abbasi, Information Secretary Khawar Mir and the religious, political, social, and business circles along with members of the civil society strongly condemned the patrolling police for disrespecting tourist families and locals even after seeing their identity cards.

They demanded Murree SSP Muhammad Bin Ashraf and other high-ranking officials take stringent action against the patrolling police personnel involved in harassing the tourists, dignitaries and citizens by setting up barricades.

“Despite showing ID cards by the citizens, the patrolling police personnel resort to adopting humiliating behaviour towards them, creating an environment of hatred between the people and the institutions,” they said, adding that such behaviour was unacceptable.

Illegal structure demolished. During an operation against illegal constructions in Bhurban, the Murree district administration demolished an under-construction building in the darkness of the night.

According to the Murree administration, on the instructions of Deputy Commissioner Agha Zaheer Abbas Shirazi, an illegal building, whose construction was started without approval according to the approved building plan, was demolished.

“Even before the demolition, the owner of the said building was intimated by the administration through a notice that illegal constructions were not allowed in Murree, so they should not be constructed,” a spokesperson said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2023.