There is a proposal to divide Lahore into two zones for purposes of policing. The revelation came at a meeting at the central police office on Friday with Inspector General (IGP) Mohammad Habibur Rehman in the chair.
The IGP said the plan had yet to be approved by the chief minister.
He said it envisaged two officers of deputy inspector general (DIG) working under the direct supervision of the capital city police officer (CCPO), besides six senior superintendents and 22 superintendents of police.
Owing to sprawling population coupled with law and order situation, he said, an urban policing model has also been proposed for the city to ensure protection of the lives and property of the citizens. He said several other proposals were under consideration with regard to an urban policing model.
Proposals
The meeting that lasted for hours supported Lahore’s division into north and south zones.
The north zone will comprise three police divisions, 11 circles and 39 police stations.
The Civil Lines division will include 12 police stations, including four in Civil Lines Circle, three in Islampura and four in Mughalpura Circle besides the women police station at Race Course.
There will be 14 police stations in the Cantonment areas, four in the Cantonment Circle, three in the Defence Circle, four in Baghbanpura Circle and three in Burki Circle.
Similarly 13 police stations would be included in the Model Town division with four in Model Town Circle, three in Ichhra Circle, three in Gulberg Circle and three in Kahna Circle.
It was further proposed that an officer of the DIG rank will head the south zone comprising three police divisions, 12 circles and 43 police stations. There will be 20 police stations in the City Division including four in the Lower Mall Circle, four in Gowalmandi Circle, four in Tibbi Circle, four in Naulakha Circle and four in Shahdara Circle.
The Iqbal Town police division will comprise 12 police stations, including three in Iqbal Town Circle, four in Muslim Town Circle, and three in Gulshan-i-Ravi Circle.
There will be 13 police stations in the Saddar Division with three in Sabzazar Circle, three in Chuhng Circle, three in Raiwind Circle and four in Township Circle.
Additional IGP Malik Khuda Bakhsh Awan, CCPO Aslam Tareen, Additional IGP (investigation) Naseemul Zamman, personal staff officer to the IGP Fayyaz Ahmad and SP (Research and Development) Faisal Raja also attended the meeting.
Also on Friday, the IGP issued a circular order directing police officials to wear uniform on duty. The IGP warned those violating the order of disciplinary action.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 12th, 2012.
COMMENTS (6)
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Perhaps you need to walk around other cities of Pakistan outside of the Punjab - for example try going to Karachi and eat out at 3 am in the morning. Then come back to Punjab and walk around Lahore in the middle of the night. Tell me where you feel safer. Your comment will be answered by this simple exercise!
The great city of my ancestors shall be divided into two police zones after the motto;.......milmila ke, wand ke aur raj ke khayo
Can the ET inform the foreigners, how many millions RupaliaN or what connection one needs to be appointed the SHO of Tibbi Thana?
@Maria: Plz chek the crime rate of Punjab first than comment ... Punjab Police is politicise.
Punjab Police must improve the 15 Response time. All over the world it is less than five minutes in developed countries and in Punjab it is on average 15 minutes and in the meanwhile miscreants usually vanish from the scene. Also it is the high time that Punjab Elite Force should introduce AirBourne Unit with Helicopters so that they could be readily deployed in any place in a moments notice. In addition to that Police forces must employ Sharp shooters or Snipers as at present Our Police is not an expert in shooting at all.
I am glad that Lahore is taking a proactive approach to policing and law enforcement. That's why Lahore and the Punjab remains the best governed and most stable province in Pakistan.
Current police structure that is based on 1861 Police Act is not suitable for a free republic of Pakistan. Law and order situation can never be controlled under current police system no matter how many ways Lahore is divided for police purposes. Adopt police system of Canada, USA or Georgia and see crime and corruption go down more than 80%. Read ‘Police Reforms in Georgia’.