LAHORE: Pakistan Railways Police (PRP) Inspector General Ibne Hussain said during an interview on Sunday that the latest communication and tracking system was being installed to monitor the Pakistan Railways tracks and trains across the country for security.

IG Hussain said that the PRP had been assigned the responsibility of operating the new tracking system, adding that the IT department had previously monitored it.

He further stated the new tracking system would be linked to a satellite, instead of the traditionally used towers, with the cooperation of National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation ( NRTC).

Initial talks are still ongoing in this regard.

“It will be helpful in rescue operations and monitoring,” he declared.

He also said that the railway police were working on an effective monitoring system and the latest equipment, including cameras and other latest security devices, would be installed at railway stations with the help of the NRTC to provide foolproof security to the passengers.

Moreover, IG Hussain stated that the latest weapons, including sniper guns, G-3 7.62 mm guns, telescopic-sighted rifles, night vision telescopes and various calibre guns, were being purchased from the Pakistan Ordinance Factory.

He further said that Rs21 million had already been approved for the plan.

“The weapons will be received within two to three months,” he said.

Answering a question about the recovery of PR land from land grabbers, IG Hussain stated that about 3,000 acres out of 5,000 acres of encroached commercial, agriculture and non-commercial land had been retrieved from land grabbers during the last two years.

He also stated that 13 railway stations – including Lahore, Peshawer, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Karachi, Multan, Sukkar and Gujranwala – had been declared high security zones.

He added that the latest security and communication system would soon be installed at these stations, saying that an NRTC team would soon visit Lahore to install the equipment as a pilot project.

Regarding security on Eidul Azha, he revealed there were security threats in the provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, adding that security had been increased in both the trains and on the tracks.

He also said that the number of policemen in trains going through Balochistan had been increased to ten policemen per train.

He admitted that the salaries of the Railway Police were lower than that given to other police forces, but said that efforts were being made to increase them.

IG Hussain announced that the government had given the security forces a free hand to combat corruption, crime and terrorists, adding that ministers or other political leaders could not interfere in matters relating to the police.