Zubair Qureshi
The newly launched urban police initiative ‘Bicycle Patrolling Unit’ of Islamabad police will serve to curb street crimes, incidents of mobile phone snatching, etc.
by taking prompt action in areas, streets, spots and places which are not accessible to big vehicles.
This was said by the Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Operations of Islamabad Dr Mustafa Tanweer in an exclusive interview with Pakistan Observer on Sunday.
The Islamabad police is in the news these days for launching ‘Cycle Patrol Unit’ for monitoring and surveillance of markets, parks, jogging tracks & trails, streets and places.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Qazi Jamilur Rehman had inaugurated the cycling patrol unit a day earlier and termed the initiative a citizen-friendly step.
It aims at developing friendly relations with residents and means to give a prompt response to any incident of crime, emergency, he further said.
Senior officials of the Islamabad police including DIG (Operations) Afzaal Ahmed Kousar, SSP (Operations) Dr Syed Mustafa Tanweer, SSP (Traffic) Farrukh Rasheed, SP (City Zone) Umar Khan and other police officers besides traders, cyclists of the city and notables were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the IGP said as a first step the patrolling squad would work in the area of Kohsar police station.
“The initiative aimed at approaching the community as police could do nothing without its support,” the IGP viewed.
He said the police could control law and order, crime and other issues only with the support of people.
ASP Kohsar Police Amna Baig is heading the cycling squad while police force will remain at the backup, he said.
According to Dr Mustafa Tanweer, the 10-member patrolling squad includes eight male and two female cops and is headed by a lady police officer of Islamabad and according to the SSP Dr Syed Mustafa Tanweer all the members of the patrolling unit are well-trained and will be equipped with necessary gadgets and tools to check and prevent any criminal activity.
Before becoming functional, the police cycling squad received training by the local cyclists.
The concept paper for this project was also written by the cycling associations, he said. We have done complete homework before launching this initiative, he further said.
While talking to Pakistan Observer, the noted cyclist and founder of Islamabad’s Girls Cycling Squad (GCS) Samreen Khan said the positive step by the Islamabad police will not only contribute to curbing street crime but it will also promote cycling among citizens, particularly women.
I am hopeful that apart from Kohsar Police limits, the other parts of Islamabad will also have such mobile cycling teams.
This will also contribute to clean and green Pakistan by saving the environment from fuel emission.
Cycling, she said is a healthy lifestyle. We have been engaged with the police personnel and welcome this eco-friendly initiative said Samreen Khan.
To a question, she said, it would be a great pleasure for GCS to conduct training or practice sessions for the beginners of the cycling patrol squad.
