Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti has warned property owners that they could be held responsible if their land is used by terrorists to carry out attacks.
Speaking to reporters after inaugurating digital initiatives at the Central Police Office on Friday, Bugti said the government wanted to avoid measures that could affect innocent citizens, noting that militants often used civilians as human shields.
However, he said landowners could not claim they were unaware of militants operating from their properties if attacks were launched from there.
“If a security forces’ convoy or the home minister is attacked from a vineyard, the owners cannot say they did not know terrorists were present on their land,” he said.
Bugti said vineyard owners had been warned repeatedly and cautioned that continued use of private properties for terrorist activities could force the government to consider relocating residents on a large scale or removing vineyards being used for such purposes.
“The blood of Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and police personnel is extremely sacred,” the chief minister said, adding that the government would not tolerate the use of private property for attacks resulting in the deaths of security personnel.
The chief minister said Balochistan was moving towards greater digitalisation of governance to improve transparency and public services.
He said eight existing Balochistan Police applications had been upgraded, while eight new apps had been launched to improve public access to the criminal justice system and provide channels for lodging complaints.
A dedicated women’s safety app allows users to send an emergency alert with a single click to their families and police. Bugti also announced an awareness campaign aimed at female students, working women and travellers.
Digital services for families of police martyrs will enable direct communication with authorities and help assess their welfare needs. Other initiatives include Khidmat Markaz, hotel and travel services and the IGP Police Complaint Cell.
Bugti announced cash rewards of Rs5 million for officers and personnel involved in the digitalisation programme and allocated Rs50m for further digitisation of the Balochistan Police.
He said CCTV and Safe City cameras had helped investigators trace suspects in murder cases and contributed to arrests following major terrorist attacks. A Safe City Authority has also been established under relevant legislation and linked with law enforcement agencies.
Commenting on the recruitment process for tehsildars, Bugti said an internal error had been identified and a committee, formed in coordination with the Public Service Commission, would submit its findings within seven to 10 days.
He reiterated that the government would not compromise on merit, even if doing so resulted in political costs.
Referring to recent recruitment by the Balochistan Revenue Authority, he said 20 to 25 applicants from his constituency had applied but none was selected, which he said demonstrated that the process was based on merit.
