PESHAWAR: The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is exploring the potential of unmanned drones for aerial surveillance, security, or climate observance across the province to improve work efficiency.
Mahmood Khan, the chief minister, approved the implementation of the project in key government sectors during a meeting attended by Shahzad Khan Bangash, provincial chief secretary, and Moazzam Jah Ansari, the police chief, among other members of the administration.
Khan told the meeting the use of drones will improve the operational and investigative capabilities of the police, adding that the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for the purpose of surveillance, particularly in border areas, will “help save lives”.
خیبرپختونخوا حکومت کا انقلابی اقدام….
پولیس، زراعت، معدنیات اور ریسکیو کے شعبوں میں ڈرون ٹیکنالوجی متعارف کرانے کا فیصلہ،
▪وزیر اعلیٰ @IMMahmoodKhan نے منصوبے پر عملدرآمد کی منظوری دے دی،
▪ڈرون ٹیکنالوجی سے پولیس کی آپریشنل اور تفتیشی صلاحیتوں میں بہتری آئے گی
محمود خان pic.twitter.com/Dxecjmv1mD— CM KP Updates (@CMKPUpdates) September 21, 2022
One senior police source, who was apprehensive of the project, said there was a serious risk that militants operating in the border region might shoot remote-controlled drones out of the sky.
Meanwhile, the campaigners believe the police’s “expanded” use of drones will happen with the rules not clear and next to no debate. But police say that is not the case.
The chief minister, however, observed that “the use of drone technology is the need of time keeping in view its role in increasing work efficiency, productivity, decreasing workload and production costs, improving accuracy and resolving security issues on a vast scale.”
He further said that technology will further improve rescue operations, adding the technology was an important milestone towards effective policing.
Khan directed his administration to introduce the technology in the police department and Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in the first phase and later extend it to minerals, agriculture and other departments.
The initial cost of the project is estimated at Rs500 million and the project will reportedly be first examined at the divisional headquarters of the police.
