ISLAMABAD: The rising number of crime cases registered in 2017 has belied the government’s tall claims of taking a number of initiatives to control the rising crime ratio in the federal capital.
Fortunately, no terrorist attack – excluding the targeted killing at imam barghah Baabul Ilm in I-8 which left two dead and three injured – has occurred in the federal capital so far.
Under the safe city project, over 1,900 surveillance cameras have been installed across the city, with a command and control centre set up in Sector H-11, to monitor important buildings, entry and exit points, roads, commercial centres and a sizable portion of residential areas.
Talking about the situation of crimes in the city, the then interior minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan had said, “Although a huge amount has been spent on the safe city project, I will only be satisfied when the crime rate is brought to zero.”
However, the facts and figures obtained by Pakistan Today portray an opposite picture.
Despite spending over Rs13 billion on the safe city project in Islamabad, as many as 6,893 cases of crimes of different nature have been registered in the current year, compared to 6,814 cases registered in 2016, which points towards the incompetence of Islamabad police. Under the foreigners act, as many as 55 cases were registered and 99 foreigners were arrested, including 93 Afghanis, one Indian and five Nigerians.
Furthermore, figures from 2017 show that the police arrested 620 members of 234 gangs who were involved in various heinous crimes. Moreover, valuables amounting to Rs400million, including 144 stolen cars, 109 stolen motorbikes, and 135 tempered cars were recovered.
Motorbike theft has increased by almost five per cent as compared to last year.
According to the official data accumulated by the police department, 593 proclaimed offenders and 256 court absconders, including two absconders of the army, were detained, however, more than 4,000 proclaimed offenders are still on the run in the capital.
The current year was tough for the beggars. As many as 3,510 beggars were arrested, 2,528 of whom were sent to Edhi homes, 63 were sent to child centres and 919 accused beggars were issued challans. As many as 22 cases were registered against the prostitution centres, and the police arrested 137 people, including 69 men and 68 women, from these centres.
As many as 207 search operations were conducted by law enforcement agencies, in which 2,033 suspects were sent to police stations for verification, after which 1,336 were freed and 697 were issued challans.
In the 15 blind murder cases reported, 23 suspects were detained.
At least 124 sheesha cafes were raided in which 33 cafe owners, 21 cafe employees and 70 smokers were arrested.
In 707 registered cases relating to arms, 741 suspects were arrested while 81 rifles, 68 guns, 573 pistols, 40 daggers and one machine gun was confiscated.
Moreover, 848 cases of narcotics were registered and 959 accused were arrested while 380kg marijuana, 81kg heroin, 21kg opium, 29,397 bottles of liquor, and 119 tablets were recovered.
However, in 2017, 1,143 cases have been reported so far pertaining to car theft, motorbike theft, snatching, robbery, and abduction for ransom. In 2016, 1,320 cases of the aforementioned crimes were reported, which is almost a 13 per cent decrease compared to the previous year.