ISLAMABAD: The increasing number of cellphones being recovered from prisoners has alarmed the police authorities and the government of Punjab.
In its letter to the Inspector General of prison Punjab and the divisional police chiefs, the Punjab home department expressed concern over the growing problem in prisons across the province as the cellphones allow criminal organisations and individuals to threaten witnesses, plan escapes and extort money while staying behind bars.
The government of Punjab has decided to initiate criminal proceedings and departmental punishments against the jail staff, including superintendents, if any prisoner was found using cellphones.
“If the cellphone was recovered from an inmate by the raiding team from outside, then the superintendent, deputy superintendent and other concerned staff members will be booked and awarded with departmental punishments.”
“And if the superintendent of the jail recovered a cellphone or found any prisoner using it, criminal proceeding will be initiated against the deputy superintendent and concerned staff in addition to a departmental proceeding against them,” a senior official of the prison department said.
Crisis cell to be closed down
ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan has decided to abandon the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) under the Interior Ministry.
It’s a primarily domestic intelligence assessment and management intuition, operational under the ministry. Its other activities involve building efforts towards counter-proliferation and counter-insurgency as well as assisting the government in managing intelligence.
Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan has confirmed the decision but he hasn’t given any deadline for closing down the institution that was working for about 13 years as it was established in 2001 to tackle the domestic and foreign terrorism in all of its forms, and manifestations and to rid the society of religious extremism.
However, its influence grew by issuing warnings and building efforts against all kinds of threats. The NCMC is headquartered in Islamabad and is responsible for electronic monitoring and aerial surveillance to maintain law and order in the country.
It has established computerised and electronic facilities, through an electronic system, in all the four provinces.
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