Rawalpindi police have decided to introduce digital passenger monitoring at bus stands, hotels and guesthouses ahead of the Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which is scheduled for November 9 to 13. Under the security plan, authorities will introduce e-ticketing at bus and wagon stands through the Travel Eye app, in order to maintain digital records of passengers who travel to and from the city. The police will also use the Hotel Eye app to collect records of guests who stay at hotels, guesthouses, inns and private rest houses. The two apps give the police a digital record of visitors to the city during the days of the match, and they cover both the people who arrive by road and those who stay in local accommodation.
A police official said that the two apps would help law enforcement agencies to monitor visitors, to verify passenger records and to identify individuals wanted by the police who enter the city or who stay at local accommodations. The decision was taken at a meeting that was chaired by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Malik Tariq Mahboob to review the security arrangements. Representatives from the Regional Transport Authority, the Counter Terrorism Department, Special Branch, City Traffic Police and other departments attended it, which shows that the arrangements involve transport, intelligence, traffic and security bodies working together.
The SSP said that the police would increase surveillance at bus and wagon stands and that they would establish a police post inside the General Bus Stand as part of the security arrangements. The post is intended to provide constant police presence at the main bus terminal of the city, where large numbers of passengers arrive and depart. According to reports of the meeting, special police monitoring will also be put in place at bus and wagon terminals and at the railway station of Rawalpindi, and passenger data for incoming and outgoing buses and wagons will be logged using the Travel Eye mobile application.
The measures are being introduced for a high profile cricket event, and the police have linked them to the need to keep the city secure while the Test match is played from November 9 to 13. By recording passengers through e-ticketing and by collecting the details of hotel guests through a second app, the police intend to build a record of the people who come into the city and where they stay. The announcement describes the use of digital records at transport and accommodation points as the main feature of the security plan, together with the increased surveillance and the new police post at the General Bus Stand.
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