Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has described the nearly 70 per cent decline in the overall crime rate across the province as an encouraging development.
In her message on the International Day for the Prevention of and Fight Against All Forms of Transnational Organised Crime, Maryam Nawaz said combating human trafficking, drug trafficking and illegal activities was an urgent necessity. She stressed that law enforcement agencies must play a more effective and active role in establishing a crime-free society.
She said organised crime posed a serious threat to social peace, stability and development, making joint efforts at every level essential to prevent it.
The Punjab chief minister said the overall crime rate had declined by 41 per cent in Lahore, 16 per cent in Dera Ghazi Khan, 52 per cent in Bahawalpur and 32 per cent in Sheikhupura.
According to her, crime rates had also fallen by 47 per cent in Multan, 36 per cent in Rawalpindi, 42 per cent in Sahiwal, 67 per cent in Gujranwala and 58 per cent in Gujrat.
Maryam Nawaz said District Safe City Authorities, mobile police stations and digital smart policing initia-tives in Punjab were producing positive results.
She emphasised that cooperation and a joint strategy were essential to completely eliminate criminal networks. Modern tech-nology and intelligence sharing could play an important role in the fight against organised crime.
The chief minister said collective efforts were necessary to uphold the rule of law, protect the public and eliminate crime. Taking indiscriminate action against criminal elements was the state’s responsibility, while establishing a crime-free society was impossible without the rule of law. Maryam Nawaz said protecting women and children from human trafficking and exploitation was a collective responsibility.
