KARACHI: Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor has urged the federal and provincial governments to accord the Karachi Safe City project the highest priority.
“Adequate funding, transparent implementation, timely completion and professional operation of the system will help transform Karachi into a safer, smarter and more resilient city,” he said.
For a metropolis that drove Pakistan’s economy, investing in modern public safety infrastructure was no longer a choice — it was an urgent necessity, he said.
Expressing grave concern over the attack on a Rangers facility at Mosimiyat in Karachi, Altaf Shakoor regretted that the megacity was paying the price of delay in the Safe City project.
He said Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital and home to more than 20 million people, continued to bear the heavy social, economic and security costs of the prolonged delay in implementing the Safe City project.
Every year of inaction left citizens more vulnerable to terror incidents and street crime, hampered effective traffic management, weakened emergency response and deprived the law enforcement agencies of modern technological tools that had become standard in major metropolitan cities around the world, he said.
The Safe City project was far more than a network of surveillance cameras, he said, adding it was an integrated public safety system comprising high-definition CCTV cameras, intelligent traffic management, automatic number plate recognition, emergency call centres, modern command-and-control facilities and advanced communication networks. Together, those technologies enabled the law enforcement agencies to detect crimes, respond rapidly to emergencies, manage traffic efficiently and improve overall urban security.
The PDP chairman said despite significant improvements in Karachi’s law and order situation over the past several years, street crime remained a major concern.
Thousands of citizens continued to fall victim to mobile phone snatching, vehicle theft, robberies and other criminal activities every year.
Criminal incidents not only inflicted financial losses but also created fear, undermined public confidence and reduced the quality of life.
A modern Safe City system could act as a powerful deterrent to crime by increasing the likelihood of detection and prosecution, he said.
“Real-time surveillance and intelligent monitoring can help police identify suspects quickly, track stolen vehicles, monitor sensitive locations and respond more effectively to emergencies. Video evidence also strengthens investigations and improves conviction rates,” he said.
The project would also significantly improve traffic management in Karachi, he said. The megacity suffers from chronic traffic congestion, frequent road accidents and widespread traffic violations. Intelligent traffic systems can optimize traffic flow, detect violations automatically, reduce travel time and facilitate movement of emergency vehicles.
He said these improvements would save countless productive hours, reduce fuel consumption and improve air quality.
Women, children, senior citizens and other vulnerable groups would particularly benefit from enhanced public safety.
“Better surveillance around schools, hospitals, markets, public transport corridors and parks can discourage criminal behavior and provide greater confidence for citizens to move freely throughout the city,” he said.
Several major cities across Asia, Europe and the Middle East had successfully used Safe City technologies to improve policing, emergency response and traffic management, he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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