PESHAWAR(National Times)- The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have integrated anti-drone systems and surveillance drones operating across the province into the Safe City Peshawar’s Command and Control Centre to strengthen security and surveillance capabilities.
With the integration of Safe City cameras and anti-drone systems, live video and surveillance feeds from police drones operating anywhere in the province, including during field operations and offensives carried out against terrorists by the police and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), can now be monitored at the Command and Control Centre.
Under the new system, hostile quadcopters and drones will not only be detected promptly but also neutralised, KP Safe Cities Project Director Deputy Inspector General Ijaz Ahmad said.
Addressing a news conference at the Command and Control Centre, DIG Ahmad said anti-drone systems installed in Peshawar and other cities had been linked to the centre.
Drones, anti-drone systems integrated into Peshawar’s Safe City network
He said live monitoring of police operations, including those conducted by the CTD across the province, had also become possible, facilitating the timely sharing of information.
The DIG said modern anti-drone systems had already been deployed in Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, Tank and Bannu districts to meet evolving security requirements and counter emerging warfare threats. Anti-drone guns had also been provided to police personnel in remote and sensitive areas of the province, he added.
He said the objective was to enhance the police’s ability to promptly detect and neutralise potential threats posed by hostile quadcopters and drones.
The DIG said monitoring and control of police surveillance drones across the province had also been incorporated into the central system.
“Now, during a police operation in any area, live video footage captured by drones will be transmitted to the central Command and Control Centre. This will keep senior police officers directly informed about the ground situation and help them support field operations effectively,” he said.
However, he said the lack of internet connectivity in some areas remained a challenge. Steps were being taken in collaboration with the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) to address the issue, he added.
He said the integrated use of modern technology, drone surveillance, anti-drone systems and centralised monitoring would further strengthen the police’s operational capabilities, security surveillance and response to militant threats.
Making the policing system more effective, coordinated and modern through technology was the need of the hour, he said, adding that the Safe Cities project was providing technical support to the KP police in this regard.
Meanwhile, the KP police have established a specialised human resource division trained in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) combat to wage high-tech warfare against terrorists, whose use of drones is evolving from surveillance and ammunition drops to swarm attacks.
The UAV division, initially conceived as an idea, was established in response to advances in terrorists’ capabilities and their growing shift from conventional street fighting to aerial warfare.
The personnel have been trained in modern drone operation, aerial surveillance, intelligence gathering, counterterrorism, protection of sensitive installations and the use of UAV technology in high-risk operations.
The division is the first of its kind established by a police department in the country.
An official said the KP police had realised that technology alone was insufficient and had taken the crucial step of establishing a specialised division of personnel trained in UAV operations.
“These personnel are not only trained to operate drones for surveillance but are also capable of conducting electronic warfare against hostile UAVs,” he added.
