Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Re: Land Record Computerization & 300 MW from Cholistan

Josh e Khitabat.

82

Patwarion KO kia police maay bharti Karo gai bhai? Jalsoon maay ronqain koon laga'ay ga?
And when those 12 months are starting?
Aab aap saay he update laini hain donoon projects ki

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Re: Land Record Computerization & 300 MW from Cholistan

Lulz!

Patwari system khatam kiya nahi Land Record ko computerized kr rhay hai

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Re: Land Record Computerization & 300 MW from Cholistan

the stop watch would start after 2017.

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Re: Land Record Computerization & 300 MW from Cholistan

How many are 'jaali votes' in this 1.5 crore votes?

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

**Merging all threads to keep track of federal and punjab govts initiatives (read gimmicks :p)

desert bird, post new articles and news here in this thread. **

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

**

Punjab signs deal with ZTE for cooperation in energy sector**

August 05, 2013

http://www.nation.com.pk/assets/thenation/images/client/hr.png

LAHORE - An agreement was signed between Punjab government and prominent Chinese company in energy sector ZTE for cooperation in setting solar power plant, on Sunday, says a press release

Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Secretary Energy, President of Chinese company Yu Yong and other officials were present on the occasion.

Secretary Energy and Vice President of ZTE signed the document. Under the agreement, the Chinese company will set up a 500 megawatt solar power plant. Initially, the Chinese company will establish a **300 megawatt **solar power plant which will later be extended to 500 megawatt capacity. ZTE will set up solar power plant in Quaid-i-Azam Solar Park Cholistan and the project will be completed within a year. Punjab government will extend all out assistant and facilities to the Chinese company for this purpose.

Addressing the ceremony, Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said that Pakistan Muslim League-N government is taking speedy measures for resolving energy crisis and agreements are being reached with several Chinese companies for launching power generation projects while steps would be taken expeditiously for their implementation.

He said that the arrival of Chinese companies and investors to Pakistan after the visit of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to China is a good omen and investment by Chinese companies and investors in energy sector augurs well. Shahbaz Sharif said that China is a trusted friend of Pakistan and has supported Pakistan in every hour of need. He said that the cooperation of China in energy sector is a glorious example of Pak-China friendship. The Chief Minister said that five memorandums of understanding were signed with Chinese company.

He said that agreements show that Pak-China friendship is higher than Himayalas, deeper than seas and sweeter than honey. He said that former rulers displayed criminal negligence by disregarding energy sector and therefore the nation is plunged in darkness today while agriculture, industrial and economic sectors are facing negative effects. He said that PML-N government made solution of energy crisis its top priority and steps are being taken on war footing for resolving this issue. He said that electricity is essential for investment in the country. He said that PML-N government will fulfill its promise made to the nation of resolving energy crisis. President ZTE, Yu Yong said that all out cooperation will be extended to Pakistan in energy sector and rapid progress will be made towards implementation of the agreement. Later,

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif hosted a dinner in honour of the members of ZTE delegation.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that energy crisis has left a negative impact on economic and trade activities and the government is taking measures on war footing from the very first day for resolving this problem. He said that electricity is essential for foreign investment and prosperity of the country. He said that Punjab government has evolved a comprehensive roadmap for the speedy implementation of power generation projects and rapid progress is being made in this direction. He said that foundation stone of** Quaid-i-Azam Solar Park to be set up over an area of 7500 acre in Cholistan** will soon be laid which will not only bring about a revolution in solar energy sector but all out facilities will also be available to foreign investors.

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/998454_572866306085313_1931276335_n.jpg

Five MoUs are signed between Punjab government and renowned Chinese Company Harbour Engineering for cooperation in energy and infrastructure sectors in the presence of CM Shahbaz Sharif and Vice President China Harbour Engineering Company Tang Qiaoliang a few moments ago. Under the agreements China Harbour Engineering Company will complete the projects of **Ravi Lake City, LNG Project, construction of Ring Road, laying of new transmission line from Gwadar to Punjab and generati****on of 1200 megawatt **electricity through coal.

“Shortage of gas would be overcome by laying transmission line from Gwadar to Punjab which would help in resolving energy crisis. He said that Chinese investment of billions of dollars would be made in Pakistan through these agreements which will not only eliminate unemployment but also improve the national economy” said the CM. Vice President China Harbour Engineering Company Tang Qiaoliang said on the occasion that mutual cooperation of new leadership of

Pakistan and China is a good omen and assured that we will try to complete all these projects before time.

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

Someone make me understand the maths here. Perhaps desert bird can do it.

The federal govt paid $5 billion dollars to IPPs within 45 days of coming to power.
And then in the same 45 days, they went to IMF, intially for a $5 billion, then a $7.5 billion loan.
Then they signed up for a $1 billion loan from IDB.

Can they not pull out another $10-20 billion from the same pocket that they pulled out the first $5 billion just weeks after declaring 'khazana khali hai'?

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

Public Transport: Govt to order Studies on new Metro Bus Projects

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“The expansion of the Metro Bus Service in Lahore appears for now to be a low priority for the provincial govt,” Metro Bus Authority officials. PHOTO: FILE

**
LAHORE: **The Punjab Metro Bus Authority (PMBA) is to invite bids from consultants soon to conduct feasibility studies for potential bus-only routes in the twin cities of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Once the feasibility studies are done, the authority will decide where to launch the next Metro Bus modeled on the new service launched in Lahore this year. The PMBA is currently preparing request for proposals, which will later be advertised to invite expressions of interest in the consultancy work for the three projects.

The consultants will have to identify four important routes in each city (based on passenger numbers) and state which would benefit the most passengers. They will also estimate construction costs. Terms of references (TORs) for the request for proposal are still being established, said officials in the PMBA. They said that the studies would have to start from scratch, as no previous studies had been done in these cities.

Last May, the PMBA received a feasibility report from Ulasium for a potential 12.6-km Metro Bus route in Lahore from Thokar Niaz Beg to MAO College on Multan Road. A route from Azadi Chowk to the Ring Road via the City Railway Station and Daroghawala along GT Road has also been proposed. However, the authority officials said that expansion of the Metro Bus Service in Lahore “for now appears to be a low priority for the provincial government”.

They said that the decision on which city would get the next Metro Bus service would be made on the basis of the passenger numbers reported in the feasibility studies, but it would most likely be in** Islamabad-Rawalipindi.
**

The authority officials said that a consultant selection committee would be set up to decide the criteria for the bidding firms. After pre qualification, the lowest bidder would take on the consulting work. Each study could go to separate consultants or to one. After the feasibility study, a PC-2 report would be made for the next budget.
**

New buses**

Nineteen buses ordered by the PMBA in June, a month after the inauguration of the 27-km Metro Bus route in Lahore, are yet to arrive in the country. Officials said that the buses were currently at a Chinese port, ready to be shipped. They said that the authority had arranged for a vessel and they would arrive “soon”, though not this month.

The buses had been expected at the end of June, then in July. The PMBA currently operates a fleet of** 45 articulated buses** in Lahore.
PMBA Managing Director Sibtain Fazle Haleem was not available for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7[SUP]th[/SUP], 2013.*

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

Pakistan to establish its first Laptop Assembly Plant

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The assembling plant will also help facilitate the distribution of laptops to deserving students. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

*ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will have its first ever laptop assembling plant soon which would strengthen the country’s indigenous capacity in laptop manufacturing and assembling, and also create job opportunities for skilled youth.
*

The decision was taken during the third meeting for the implementation of the Prime Minister Youth Laptop Scheme held here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairperson, Dr Javaid R Leghari.

The assembling plant will also help facilitate the distribution of laptops to deserving students.

**
50% of the required labour** will be provided by the Prime Minister’s Skill Development Training Programme.

The meeting also decided to hold an international conference of potential bidders for establishing the plant, and to form a steering committee comprising all the stakeholders for effective implementation of the laptop scheme.

A Project Implementation Unit will also be established at HEC to initiate speedy implementation of the scheme without any delay.

The meeting discussed the modalities of implementing the laptop scheme recently announced by the government in the annual budget to acknowledge the outstanding performance of the bright students.

Chairman HEC, Dr Javaid Leghari said the HEC was tasked to design the implementation strategy and form eligibility criteria in a transparent manner to promote outreach of youth to information and communication technology.

Under this scheme, laptops would be given to students acquiring higher education at federal universities.
He assured the meeting that the HEC will implement the laptop scheme in a well defined, merit-based and transparent manner.

Director General Information Technology, HEC Anwar Amjad gave a presentation elaborating the design and mechanism of implementing the laptop scheme.

Those who attended the meeting included representatives from the** Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Ministry of Science and Technology, HEC and Punjab Information and Technology Board.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7[SUP]th[/SUP], 2013.*

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

Wadaay Miansaab aur khawaja asif kuch aur biyan daitay hain aur chotay miansaab apna raag alag saay alaptay rahtay hain.
Saudi dawakhany saay josh e khitabat ki dawai kiun nahen laitay???

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

You are quick to copy/paste MOUs and any other statement by the Sharif’s that speaks of doing this that and the other, but never anything about accountability.
So far, the govt has already spent $5.5 billion dollars (if not more) to pay off their buddies in IPPs, and have hiked tax rates and electricity prices across the board. However, not a single step has been taken to show accountability. No audit of this huge expense is on the cards. No audit of the nandipur hiked budget. Its been 2 months, the govt has already spent billions, and yet, there is no public accounts committee so far. Any idea when that will happen?

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress


Is that one person being "representatives" of all those ministries (aka Shahbaz Sharif) or were these different people from different ministries?

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

Debt Cleared: Abu Dhabi plans to revive Khalifa Refinery Project

By Zafar Bhutta / Creative: Jamal Khurshid
Published: August 16, 2013

http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/590693-image-1376590747-973-640x480.JPG

The Khalifa refinery will become the largest oil refinery of the country with a refining capacity of 250,000 barrels per day based in Balochistan and costing an estimated $6 billion. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID

ISLAMABAD: Barely two months after the new PML-N government has taken over, the Abu Dhabi government is planning to revive the multi-billion-dollar Khalifa Coastal Oil Refinery – a joint venture with Pakistan – which was put on the back burner during the previous government’s tenure because of global recession and a row over management issues.**
*

The board of directors of** Pak Arab Refinery Limited (Parco)** has decided to immediately call a special meeting on the refinery in an attempt to finalise arrangements to kick off work on the project.

The Khalifa refinery will become the largest oil refinery of the country with a refining capacity of 250,000 barrels per day based in Balochistan and costing an estimated** $6 billion.
**

At present,** Parco** is the largest refinery of the country with a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day.Parco is a joint venture between the Government of Pakistan and the emirate of Abu Dhabi in which the former holds a 60% share and the latter has a 40% stake through the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Investment Company LLC, a subsidiary of International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

In the Khalifa refinery, IPIC will have majority shareholding at 74% whereas Parco will have 26% stake.

According to sources, mounting inter-corporate debt was one of the key reasons that forced the Abu Dhabi government to put the project on hold. As the new government has cleared almost all of the debt, Abu Dhabi is planning to press on with the project.

Officials said the Parco board, in its last sitting in June, decided to hold a meeting on reviving the Khalifa refinery, but it could not be held because of some reasons. Now, it has been decided to hold a special meeting on the project very soon to finalise arrangements for moving ahead with construction work on the refinery.

“A special meeting of the Parco board of directors will be held to resolve the issues that are blocking the way of the project,” an official said.
The Parco board has already accorded approval to initial funding of** $500 million** for the refinery, including immediate release of $13 million for
sub-contracts.

The Khalifa refinery, which has been allotted 1,000 acres of land, will have a capacity to refine 13 million tons of petroleum products per year.
*
Published in The Express Tribune, August 16[SUP]th[/SUP], 2013.

*Debt cleared: Abu Dhabi plans to revive Khalifa refinery project – The Express Tribune

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

Punjab to produce over 350MW from Alternative Energy](Punjab to produce over 350MW from alternative energy)

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The govt will develop a wind project at Kallar Kahar that will produce 8MW of electricity. PHOTO: FILE

**LAHORE: **The Punjab government has selected 11 sites for the production of electricity from five alternative and renewable energy sources including solar, coal, biogas, biomass and wind and will woo the private sector to invest in these projects, a government official says.

A significant number of interested investors were expected to inject capital into these ventures and some had already been issued letters of interest by the government for initiating civil works and import of machinery, the official, who was aware of the developments, told The Express Tribune.

These projects will produce 358 megawatts of electricity, of which 200MW will come from four coal-based power plants, 140MW from solar plants, 3MW from biogas, 8MW from wind and 10MW from biomass.

According to a study conducted by the provincial government in association with interested investors, Cholistan enjoys the potential to produce 130MW of solar power and a site in the suburbs of Kasur has the capacity to produce 10MW from the same source.

For coal-fired projects, four sites have been identified – one each in** Katha Sughral in Khushab district, Choa Saidan Shah Chakwal, Lila Pind Dadan Khan and Malikwal**. Each of these will produce 50MW of electricity.

The government will construct two biogas plants on the outskirts of Lahore, one with a capacity of 2.5MW in** Gowala Colony, Rakh Chand Rai and another of 1.5MW in Harbanspura.**

The** wind project** will be developed at** Kallar Kahar **that will produce 8MW of electricity.

The **biomass plant **will be installed in any city producing a huge quantity of wheat and sugarcane as this will consume the raw material of these crops for the production of 10MW.

In 2011, the Punjab government established an independent energy department with a vision “to utilise all available resources in the province to provide affordable energy to all segments of the provincial economy through increase in generation and conservation.”

The province has also set up the** Punjab Power Development Board** to facilitate private sector investment in the power sector.
*

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16[SUP]th[/SUP], 2013

Punjab to produce over 350MW from alternative energy – The Express Tribune

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

Russian firm ready to invest in 500-600MW coal-fired projects

16 August, 2013

ISLAMABAD: A Russian company has shown interest in implementation of 500-600 MW coal-fired thermal power projects near the cities of Muzaffargarh and Jamshoro in the public sector, and also in modernization and conversion of some other power projects in the country to coal.

A Russian delegation comprising of Eng. Alexey Semenkov, Director of Overseas Projects, M/s. South Centre of Power Engineering PLC (SCPE), Eng. Valery Davydyuk, Deputy General Director, & Eng. Dimitry Solodyankin, Deputy General Director M/s. ECM, called on** Chairman BOI Mohammad Zubair in Board of Investment.** M/s ECM is the consortium partner of SCPE.

Semenkov apprised that SCPE is the leading Russian state-controlled engineering company, widely known in the power industry.

In order to mobilize funding for the coal-fired and other thermal power projects, SCPE in cooperation with the leading Russian banks is ready to hold talks with Pakistani authorities on the structuring of the financing in the amount of 85 % from the cost of these projects for a period of not less than 14 years.

The company was also agreed for modernization and** conversion to coal the unit No. 1 of TPP “Guddu”; dispersal of power from **747 MW thermal power plant “Guddu” (construction of HV transmission line with the capacity of 500 kV); upgrading and construction of HV transmission lines and substation 220 kV in the districts of** D.I.Khan.**

He further apprised that the Russian companies are keen to participate in international tenders for projects such as hydroelectric power station “Tarbela” (lot 1 of the construction work), HPP “Tarbela” (lot 2 of the Electromechanical works), as well as hydroelectric power station “KeyalKwar”.

Chairman BOI said that I am sure that the plans will contribute to further intensification of cooperation between Russia and Pakistan in the field of electric power industry, and the implementation of the projects.
Courtesy: The Nation

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

Demand drive: Yarn Production increases to cater to Rising Demand

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Hassan Limited currently has 187,000 spindles, and it plans to install 27,000 more spindles for export purpose.

**
FAISALABAD: After twenty-three years of existence, Hassan Limited Faisalabad, along with other producers in the yarn industry, has decided to go global after witnessing early signs of an improving energy crisis and increasing demand of yarn in the international market.**

The public limited company plans to invest Rs1.2 billion to install new units in Faisalabad to meet the increasing demand of yarn in the international market. As China is gradually moving away from yarn production, global buyers have started shifting to Pakistan.

The steps taken by the** Pakistan Muslim League (N) government** to resolve the energy crisis has encouraged industrialists to expand businesses, said the company’s Chief Executive Officer Umar Nazar Shah while giving an interview to *The Express Tribune.
*

Steps like clearing circular debt have sent positive signals to international buyers, who were earlier shied away due to delay in meeting their orders, to come to Pakistan, said Shah.He said industrialists who deal in the local market are now entering the international market and investing billions of rupees.

http://pullquotesandexcerpts.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/1064.jpg?w=625

**Hassan Limited **started its business in 1990 and produces a broad range of carded ring spun yarns – short and long staple – from a variety of carding spinning systems tailored for today’s export and local market.Shah said the rising demand of yarn in the international market has incentivised the company to move from the local market to the international market.

Hassan Limited has six operational units in Faisalabad with the capacity of 187,000 spindles, and it plans to install 27,000 more spindles for export purpose, said Shah.Pakistani products are already in great demand in the international market but the investors have been reluctant to invest in the country due to uncertain policies of the previous government and the energy crisis.

**“The situation seems to have improved as the spinning industry is receiving gas ten hours a day without any day off”, **said Shah.

He added that China has great demand for yarn which encourages local producers to go global. He said the trend will help the government increase textile exports to** $14 billion** this year.He added that the manufacturers were satisfied with the current government which seemed serious about resolving longstanding chronic issues.

He added that if the government provided electricity and gas on an equal basis to all provinces, the business community would be ready to invest more in the country.In the time of electricity load-shedding the company used a captive power plant to fulfil its electricity needs. Now our factories remain operational around the clock, said Shah.Shah added that the energy crisis was one of the biggest reasons behind idle capacity that discouraged investors from expanding their businesses in last five years.

China’s middle class is growing, said Shah, while labour in the neighbouring countries is also becoming expensive. This has shifted the global buyer to Pakistan.We have cheap labour and the** best raw material** in the world. This provides an opportunity to Pakistani businessmen to capture the international market, he said.Only a business and investment friendly environment can bring investment into the country, he added.

*Published in The Express Tribune, August 18[SUP]th[/SUP], 2013.

*Demand drive: Yarn production increases to cater to rising demand – The Express Tribune

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Re: Federal & Punjab Govts initiatives/Progress

Smart Policing: Police learn to use Digital Mapping to tackle Crime](Smart policing: Police learn to use digital mapping to tackle crime)

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LAHORE: The city police’s investigation wing has launched a mapping programme to identify the most dangerous areas and work out how to tackle crime there.

Police officials have been given smartphones loaded with an application designed by the **Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) **and taught how to use it to map incidents of crime. The board has handed out a total of 83 phones, one to each police station.

Crime Records Office SP Mustafa Hameed Malik told The Express Tribune that three or four Police Record and Office Management Information System (Promis) personnel at each station had been taught to use the smartphone app.

The app allows policemen to enter the FIR number, date of occurrence, time, description and area of jurisdiction for each crime, as well as pictures of the crime scene and the complainant, and mark it on a Google map of Lahore using the **GPS in the phone. The data is stored directly to the PITB database web server **in real time, currently accessible only to the Investigations DIG and the CRO SP, police sources said.

A source at the PITB said that the main database server shows Google maps marked with the crime data sent from the field by police personnel on their smartphones. A satellite view from **300 metres **above ground level shows the place and name of the crime committed. A bubble appears at the spot, upon clicking which the user can see the data entered about the crime and the pictures.

Crimes can be viewed on the map separately or collectively. “The proximity of different crimes in particular areas
helps police understand crime trends better, and thus helps devise appropriate strategies to fight them,” said Investigations DIG Zulfiqar Hameed.

He said that the crime mapping was “the first step towards smart policing. It will reduce the crime rate in the city to an extent that will be felt by everyone within six or seven months.”

The training of policemen for the project began on **July 31 **and 2,500 cases have been marked on the crime map since then. The PITB sources said that personnel at 15 of the 83 police stations in the city had yet to start mapping crimes due to technical problems.

The 83 phones provided to the police came from the PITB, as the Punjab government has not yet approved funds for the project. The PITB sources said that the phones were given to the board by the Punjab government during the elections in order to gauge voting trends.

“As soon as the government approves the PC-1 for the crime mapping project, the PITB will be returned the phones,” said the DIG.

The PC-1, seeking some Rs180 million for the project, has been prepared by the Lahore police and sent to the Planning Commission for approval, he said. Both the chief minister of the Punjab and the prime minister have applauded the project, he added.

Hotspots

The DIG said that incidents of crime were not spread evenly on the map. Clusters he called hotspots accounted for a disproportionate number of crimes.

“The appeal of focusing limited resources on a small number of high crime activity places is straightforward. If we can prevent crime at hotspot locations, then we might be able to reduce total crime,” he said. “Hotspot policing is a big plank of smart policing.” The mapping would allow police to deal with crime “surgically” and would end random patrols, Hameed said. Recent research showed that focused police interventions, such as directed patrols, proactive arrests, and problem-oriented policing were far more effective than random patrolling and picketing, he added.

Hameed said that the new smart policing policy was based on CompStat (comparative statistics or computer statistics), a police management and accountability system originally developed by the New York Police Department and now in use in most of North America.

The model seeks to focus police organisations on specific problems and empower them to identify and solve them. “Given the growing popularity of this approach to crime prevention across the world, it can help executives and policymakers understand what works in preventing crime in hot spot areas,” he said.

SP Mustafa Malik said that a pilot project at four police stations had had positive results. It showed that **Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park alone accounted for six per cent of car theft in Lahore.
**

“Just by focusing on that particular hotspot, we managed to reduce the rate of car theft in the city. Foot patrols followed by patrol maintenance resulted in significant reductions in calls for service. The enforcement of a problem-oriented policing strategy also resulted in significant reductions in total crime incidents, and varying reductions in all subcategories of crime types,” he said.

He added that extra policemen would be deployed in the 10 areas with the most crimes.

Crimes Investigation Agency **SP Umer Virk **said that the project would have great practical use. “Police officers know the locations in their beats that tend to be trouble spots and are often very sensitive to the signs of potential crimes across their beats. Pinning crime activities on digital maps with dates, times and exact locations
will enhance police performance.”
*
Published in The Express Tribune, August 18[SUP]th[/SUP], 2013.

*Smart policing: Police learn to use digital mapping to tackle crime