Pakistan’s Interior Minister Abdul Rehman Kanju on Monday admitted that the street crime rate has increased in Islamabad, Dawn reported.
According to a Pakistani newspaper, Kanju claimed that the increase in the population has led to a spike in street crime cases. However, he claimed that the government was taking effective steps to ensure the safety of citizens.
The minister made these comments while responding to a calling attention notice, moved by PTI Member of National Assembly (MNA) Asiya Azeem regarding the increase in crimes against women in Islamabad, Dawn reported.
Giving details about the measures that the Pakistan government has taken to control crime, Interior Minister said that Eagle Squad had been formed to patrol streets on motorcycles, claiming that there had been a significant decline in the crime rate since the formation of the squad.
Kanju claimed that since the start of the year, not a single case of house robbery had been reported in the capital.
Regarding the crimes against women, Kanju claimed that it was because of the government’s directives to the police to register every first information report (FIR) in this regard.
Previously, he said, registration of FIR was discouraged and most cases were not being reported.
He, however, claimed that out of 3,000 to 3,500 cases, the majority were registered by parents of girls over marriage issues. He said 90 per cent of these cases were disposed of by the courts when these girls appeared before the courts and said that they had married of their own will, according to Dawn.
In further detail, the minister said that he was surprised to know that the park manager post did not exist in F-9 Park. He said now a park manager had been appointed, besides the installation of 100 cameras.
Eagle Squad personnel had been deployed in the park for horse patrolling, he said, adding that besides this, the number of watchmen had been increased from 16 to 22.
The minister then made some political remarks, stating that the Islamabad Police must be appreciated for facing armed mobs every now and then while carrying no arms, according to Dawn.
