Public security: Safe city project to start in Lahore this year says Shahbaz

Says 400 foreigners studying in madrassas without documents will be deported.

LAHORE:

The Safe Cities Project will be launched in Lahore by the end of the current year, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Wednesday.

He was addressing a press conference at the PML-N Model Town Secretariat along with cabinet members.

“Lahore will be the first ‘safe city’. Surveillance cameras will be installed at all important spots of the city. A command and control centre will run the information technology-based system. Law enforcement agencies will monitor the city and swiftly respond to any threat,” the chief minister said.

“The government will use all resources necessary to eliminate the threat of terrorism and extremism. The authorities are collecting information on all religious seminaries in the province,” he said.

He said that 400 foreign students had been found studying in the seminaries without any documentation. “They will be deported soon. The list has been sent to the federal government to initiate action,” he said.

“Afghan refugees who do not have proper documentation will also be sent back to their country.

We are importing 1,000 biometric machines that will be linked to the NADRA database. They will be used to verify whether someone is a Pakistani citizen or not,” he said.

He said the government was importing tracking equipment to monitor the movement of Schedule IV individuals. “The Punjab government is bearing the expenditure of these security initiatives on its own. No funds have been requested from the federal government in this regard,” he said.

“Lessons about promoting tolerance and inter-faith harmony will be added to the curricula of universities, schools, colleges and religious seminaries,” he said.

“Hundreds of people supporting terrorists have been arrested in the province. The authorities are taking steps to effectively prosecute them. A counter-terrorism force has been established in the province. A new batch of 1,500 personnel will complete its training in July. We are giving them bullet-proof jackets and helicopters to fight terrorism. The Quick Response Force and the Rapid Response Force have also been established,” he said.

“There is no debate on the definition of good or bad terrorists. Militancy and terrorism will be dealt with an iron hand,” he said.

“The government is working on several socio-economic projects. We will build 8,000 to 10,000 new homes for homeless people. A solar power project has been completed in Bahawalpur,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2015.