Balochistan Safe City Projects Get Punjab Support
Balochistan Safe City projects will receive technical assistance, staff training and expertise from Punjab under a joint venture agreed by the two provinces’ chief ministers. Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz agreed to strengthen cooperation to make Safe City projects in Balochistan more effective, operational and aligned with modern security requirements.
The agreement followed a request from Bugti. Maryam Nawaz then issued directives to the relevant authorities to provide institutional support and assistance to strengthen the Balochistan Safe City Authority. Under the proposed joint venture between the Safe City authorities of the two provinces, both sides will work together to improve security monitoring systems, provide technical assistance, build staff capacity and facilitate the exchange of expertise and experience.
Balochistan Safe City joint venture: what it covers
The cooperation covers the practical parts of running a Safe City system, not only its cameras. Punjab will provide technical assistance, staff training, capacity building and the transfer of modern expertise to ensure the projects operate effectively. Punjab Safe City Authority Director General Ahsan Younas told the meeting that his organisation would extend that support to Balochistan.
The development was discussed at a meeting of the Balochistan Safe City Authority, chaired by Bugti. Additional Chief Secretary Home Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat briefed the meeting on ongoing projects and their progress, informing participants that work on Safe City projects was under way in nine cities across the province. The meeting did not name the nine cities in the account of its proceedings.
Bugti told the meeting that Safe City projects were not merely surveillance systems but the foundation of modern security infrastructure aimed at protecting the lives and property of citizens. He stressed that advanced technology and effective security monitoring systems were essential to maintaining law and order, preventing crime and providing a safe environment for the people of Balochistan. Modern surveillance systems, he said, would help monitor the movement of criminal elements, identify suspicious activities in a timely manner and improve the response of law enforcement agencies.
Who attended the meeting
The meeting brought together the province’s senior security and administrative leadership. Provincial Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove, Balochistan Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan, Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat and Inspector General of Police Muhammad Tahir Khan attended, along with Balochistan Safe City Authority Director General Muhammad Ashfaq, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Imran Zarkoon, Finance Secretary Jahangir Khan and IT Secretary Ayaz Khan Mandokhail.
Bugti thanked the Punjab chief minister and the Punjab Safe City Authority for extending cooperation and support to Balochistan. He said institutional collaboration and the exchange of experience between provinces would help achieve shared public safety objectives.
Why inter-provincial help matters here
Safe City systems only work when the people running them can use the tools well. Cameras and monitoring rooms need trained operators, clear procedures and maintenance, and a province building projects in nine cities at once faces a staffing and training task as large as the technical one. Punjab’s offer addresses that side directly, through staff training and capacity building rather than equipment alone.
The cooperation also sits in a wider Balochistan picture. Feature Pakistan reported this week on Balochistan’s winter showers and gas crisis, and on Peshawar’s safe city drone surveillance, which shows how other provinces are pairing cameras with aerial monitoring. For Balochistan, the test of the new joint venture will be whether the nine city projects move from work under way to systems that operate reliably day to day. The Dawn report gives the full account of the meeting and the agreement.
Frequently asked questions
What did Bugti and Maryam Nawaz agree?
They agreed that Punjab will help strengthen Balochistan Safe City projects through a joint venture between the two provinces’ Safe City authorities.
What help will Punjab provide?
Punjab will provide technical assistance, staff training, capacity building and the transfer of modern expertise to the Balochistan Safe City Authority.
In how many Balochistan cities are Safe City projects under way?
Work on Safe City projects was reported to be under way in nine cities across the province, though the nine cities were not named in the meeting account.
Who briefed the meeting on progress?
Additional Chief Secretary Home Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat briefed the meeting on ongoing projects and their progress.
What did Bugti say Safe City projects are for?
He said they were not merely surveillance systems but the foundation of modern security infrastructure aimed at protecting the lives and property of citizens.
