Requesting public cooperation: 24-hour hotline launched to report ‘suspicious activity’

Posters pasted around Saddar have a number, but no govt department’s name.

PESHAWAR:

In an effort to curb terrorism and other crime, law enforcement agencies have launched a hotline for residents to report any suspicious activity.

The initiative was launched following the suicide attack on the Frontier Corps commandant and the Khyber House. The posters, which only mention a 24-hour hotline number 1125 without naming a particular government department, have been pasted in the Cantt area and in bazaars in Saddar, including on Arbab Road, Mall Road, Liaquat Bazaar and Qayyum Stadium.

The posters are inscribed with instructions for the public on how to identify suspicious people and materials that could be used to manufacture improvised explosive devices. People can also give feedback on how best to prevent terrorist attacks.

The poster reads: “It is our first priority to protect life and property of civilians and for this, people’s cooperation is essential.” It says that complaints registered by calling 1125 will be addressed immediately and will be heard round the clock. Citizens can call the number from a landline or a mobile phone and those calling from outside Peshawar must dial the area code 091.

The poster also depicts pictures of a suicide bomber with a bomb strapped around his waist and a pressure cooker turned improvised explosive device stashed along a roadside.

Many traders and shopkeepers have torn some posters fearing a backlash from militants.

Muhammad Sartaj, a mobile phone shopkeeper in Bilour Plaza, said that allowing such posters toa be pasted near his shop will make it seem that people are siding with law enforcement agencies, for which they have already suffered.

“It is the government’s responsibility to ensure our safety,” said Sartaj, adding that other shopkeepers have also removed these posters put up near their shops out of fear.

Malik Tamheed Khan, a banker, expressed satisfaction over the recent campaign, however. “It is very encouraging that officials want to take the public into confidence and have asked us for suggestions to curb militancy,” he said.

A security official said they are getting a positive response as a result of the initiative. “On Tuesday at 5am, an unidentified man called the emergency number regarding explosive materials planted beside a CD shop, after which the bomb disposal team rushed to the spot and defused the bomb.”

The official said that people’s cooperation is essential in thwarting terrorist attacks and to limit collateral damage.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2013.