On the occasion of the International Day Against Drug Abuse, IGP Punjab Dr. Usman Anwar reiterated his commitment to fulfilling Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawazs vision of a Drug-Free Punjab. He said that the day was commemorated to renew a pledge to eradicate the scourge of drugs from society and protect the young generation from its dangers. He said the Punjab Police would leave no stone unturned in uprooting the menace of drugs.
The IGP Punjab highlighted that this year, more than 33,000 raids were conducted on drug dealers hideouts across the province. Over 16,000 suspects involved in the illicit business were arrested, and more than 15,500 cases were registered. He mentioned that more than 9,200-kilogram charas, 160-kg heroin, 45-kg Ice, 269-kg opium, and over 1.674 million litres of liquor were seized from the drug dealers. Usman Anwar said that within the past 24 hours, 281 raids were conducted across the province, including Lahore. During these raids, 146 suspects involved in the toxic trade were arrested, and 141 cases were registered. From the suspects possession, 99 kilograms of charas and 1,747 litres of liquor were recovered.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. Usman Anwar encouraged police teams for successfully tracing serious crimes with cash rewards and commendation certificates on Wednesday. At a ceremony here, he rewarded 71 officers and personnel from Faisalabad and Sahiwal regions with commendation certificates and cash rewards. At the ceremony, held at the Central Police Office, he awarded cash prizes and commendation certificates to 17 teams from Okara, eight from Sahiwal, five from Pakpattan, seven from Faisalabad, two from Toba Tek Singh, and one team from Jhang. These police teams had successfully solved cases of robbery, murder, kidnapping for ransom, and other heinous crimes, and arrested criminals and brought them to justice. The IGP said that the Police Department was spending Rs 10 million daily from its resources on the welfare of the constabulary. He said, “This year, we are providing educational scholarships worth 1 billion rupees to children of the police force.”
Dr. Usman Anwar mentioned that a new series of promotions based on merit had been started in the police force, and there would be 700 more promotions in the Punjab Highway Police (PHP) soon. Similarly, hundreds of merit-based promotions would be given in all wings, including Safe City Authority and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). The IGP said that the National Police Foundation was starting a housing project to solve housing issue for the police employees, which would provide thousands of employees with their own homes. Additional IGP Punjab Sultan Ahmad Chaudhry, AIG Admin Dr. Muhammad Rizwan Ahmed Khan, SP Investigation Allama Iqbal Town Mughees Ahmad Hashmi, ASP Gulberg Muhammad Raza, and other officers were also present.
