'CCTV cameras in Islamabad cannot help identify faces or number plates'

ZULFIQAR AHMAD

ISLAMABAD: The government stunned the lawmakers in Senate on Friday by revealing that 1,900 CCTV cameras installed across the federal capital under the multibillion rupees 'Safe City Project' do not have the software to identify faces.

During the question-hour, in response to a question by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak, State Minister for Interior Balighur Rehman said that Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has confirmed that the CCTV cameras do not have the software to identify faces.

However, he quickly said that approval has been accorded for installation of the software without any further delay.

Khattak also pointed out that he was also informed that the cameras are of poor quality of two megapixel and could not even identify number plate of a vehicle. To this, the minister said that the utility of the cameras is well-established and they have helped improve not only the law and order in Islamabad, but crime has also come down significantly and traffic was also being managed in a better way.

He said that another 200 cameras would be installed soon, while the traders and shopping malls are being encouraged to install such cameras.

He agreed to a proposal that the Centre might consider legislation to also call on the provinces to opt for CCTV cameras in due course of time. "The installation of these cameras has helped making Islamabad one of the safest cities," the minister went on to claim.

Replying to a question by PPP Senator Sehar Kamran, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan informed the House in a written reply that seminaries in Punjab are geo-tagged and that there are a total of 13,798 seminaries across the province, belonging to various schools of thought.

As per the statistics provided in the written reply, 6,115 Deobandi seminaries are catching up with 6,610 belonging to Brailvis, followed by Ahl-e-Hadith with 843 and Ahl-e-Tashi with 230 seminaries.

Multan houses maximum 2,005 seminaries, followed by 1,920 in Gujranwala, 1,912 in Dera Ghazi Khan, 1,911 in Bahawalpur, 1,336 in Sargodha, 1,294 in Faisalabad, 1,257 in Rawalpindi, 919 in Sahiwal, 644 in Lahore and 600 seminaries are in Shiekhupura.

Maximum number of Deobandi seminaries (954) are found in Bahawalpur, whereas 952 seminaries belonging to Brailvis, are set up in Gujranwala, Ahl-e-Hadith have maximum 180 seminaries in Gujranwala while Ahl-e-Tashi's maximum 50 seminaries are located in Dera Ghazi Khan.

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb told the House that since February, last year as many as 1,068 complaints have been received by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) against various TV channels for spreading sectarian violence and incitement in Pakistan.

She said that PEMRA had issued, so far, 91 licences to satellite TV channels. However, 22 applications were received for issuance of licences, but pursuant to the restrain and then a stay order by Lahore High Court, these were not processed.

Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch informed the House that the Marble City of Mohmand Agency with a capacity to accommodate about 290 industrial units is in advance stage of completion and is being included in CPEC. But, he could not provide accurate answers to Azam Swati and Nauman Khattak, who had asked if a single unit has been occupied so far and what the status is for making the city a part of CPEC and how, respectively.

He sought fresh questions. However, he conceded that there are serious problems of land record and data, which needed to be streamlined.

The minister also wanted fresh question from PTIs Mohsin Aziz and Azam Musakhail of PkMAP, who asked what facilitation has been done, so far, by the Fata Investment Facilitation Authority for setting up small and medium enterprises in the tribal region. He also had no idea how people of Fata could benefit from ZTBL.