LAHORE: Anticipating a spillover of terrorists into Punjab in case a military action is launched against the Taliban, the provincial government is taking steps to put in place flawless security arrangements along its borders with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Sources said the enhanced checking system was to prevent movement of criminals, contrabands, weapons and explosive material.

The urgency of the issue can be gauged from the fact that initially Rs100 million has been released for introducing a foolproof system to avert infiltration of terrorists.

Police have been ordered to guard all entry points, including those in riverine areas. The government has doubts about the delivery of desired results by law-enforcement agencies, so it is planning to introduce an external system to keep an eye on police and make them perform.

“The DPO heads the internal checking system, but a failure at lower level is considered his failure. Therefore, he may tend to undermine facts. And since there is no time to take risks, the government may improvise an external mechanism to keep an eye on police. It’s a matter of survival and we must plug all loopholes,” a senior Punjab government official told Dawn.

Officials said reports that the Taliban had already started penetrating Punjab had alarmed the provincial government, but it sprang into action to stop the possible infiltration to prevent terrorism in Punjab.The sources said Punjab police had checkposts at the border with KP. It also had highway patrolling posts, but the chief minister was not satisfied with their working and wanted them to rise to the occasion.

Sources in the Punjab police said authorities were working day and night on an extensive border security improvement programme in Attock, Mianwali, Bhakkar and Dera Ghazi Khan districts bordering KP apparently to restrict movement of all types of criminals.

The decades-old manual and random checking of suspected people and vehicles either in a normal way or on vague secret information at designated entry / exit points between the two provinces are not delivering.

A police team led by the Additional IG of Punjab Highways Patrol has recently inspected 18 frequented entry / exist points and 44 unfrequented routes in the four districts bordering KP with a view to reorganising patrolling and surveillance and replacing manual system with a high-tech mechanism.

Although senior police officials insisted that the exercise was aimed at guarding all possible routes to check people and vehicles in large numbers, the sources said it would stop infiltration of the Taliban into the province.

Police sources said that under the new Police Management Information System, online data of citizens and vehicles would be available to policemen working on border routes. The centralised data would have access to Nadra, the excise & taxation department, Police Record Office and Management Information System and the Pakistan Automated Fingerprints Identification System.

The new system, being devised at the Central Police Office at a cost of Rs2.9 billion, also included remote monitoring facility which would put a check on officials with the help of CCTV cameras, the sources said.

Currently, there are 18 checkposts on roads entering Punjab from KP, seven bridges, 68 riverine crossings and 24 riverine posts.

A police official said 100 per cent checking and manning of border areas was not possible because of shortage of manpower and physical resources.

He said it appeared that lack of training, central database and required logistics like patrolling vehicles and gadgetry led to failure of manual and random checking by the district police.

The official said the Punjab police would submit a detailed report comprising analyses, suggestions and requirements to the provincial government for action.

IGP Khan Baig said the exercise was being conducted to curb criminal activities from both sides with the help of enhanced security mechanism and centralised database.

He said the online system installed at all checkposts and improved border patrolling mechanism would help restrict movement of criminals, especially preventing easy transportation of snatched / stolen vehicles.