Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has announced plans to expand the Safe Smart Cities project to every tehsil and union council across the province, extending a technology driven public safety network beyond the district level for the first time. The expansion will also include the installation of an additional 1,500 panic buttons at police stations and prominent public locations, a measure aimed at strengthening emergency response capabilities and improving overall public safety across Punjab’s smaller towns and local communities.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Punjab Integrated Safe City Network on Independence Day, the chief minister confirmed that Safe City networks have now been launched across all districts of the province. She said Punjab is increasingly relying on technology, artificial intelligence, smart surveillance and predictive policing to monitor security situations and respond to emergencies in real time. According to Maryam Nawaz, the entire province can now be monitored through an integrated system, while citizens are able to seek assistance through the dedicated emergency helpline number 15, giving residents a direct channel to report incidents and request help regardless of their location within Punjab.
The chief minister said the government would now take the Safe City model beyond the existing district level infrastructure by extending it first to tehsils and subsequently to union councils, a phased approach intended to build a wider security network at the grassroots level. She noted that the additional 1,500 panic buttons being installed at police stations and key public locations would particularly help strengthen the sense of security among women and children, groups that have been a specific focus of Punjab’s broader digital safety initiatives. Maryam Nawaz also highlighted the impact of existing technology driven safety tools, stating that the Virtual Police Station has provided relief to 1.1 million women, while the Child Safety App has helped resolve 100,000 cases and reunited 80,000 children with their families since their respective launches.
Illustrating the practical impact of the panic button system, the chief minister cited an example from Bhakkar, where a woman used a panic button after her husband suffered a cardiac emergency, allowing authorities to respond immediately to the situation. She further noted that public transport passengers can also access emergency assistance by scanning QR codes installed on vehicles, extending the safety network beyond fixed locations to include mobile transit systems. Maryam Nawaz said the broader objective is to build a complete Safe City network across Punjab, ensuring that citizens in smaller towns and local communities gain access to the same technology based security and emergency response systems that have so far been available primarily at the district level.
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