Pakistan Railways enforces strict anti-theft measures

KARACHI: Inspector General (IG) Railways Rao Tahir led a high-level meeting, convened by Pakistan Railways, to control the rising incidents of theft and fare-jumping in Karachi, ARY News reported.

The meeting focused on theft prevention in the railway industry, reviewed the recent violations in security and highlighted strong countermeasures.

Officials got directives from IG Rao Tahir to evaluate the criminal records of suspects involved in theft and conduct surveillance on their movements. He stressed the importance of monitoring across railway yards, indicating that staff should remain proactive and vigilant.

IG Rao Tahir ordered SPs to educate their teams on protecting railway assets, especially signal equipment.

To support theft prevention in railway, Rao Tahir stressed the use of security cameras to obtain video recordings permissible in court. He also called for stringent monitoring against pickpockets in trains and urged legal follow-up.

At the same time, Karachi Division launched a crackdown on fare-jumping. Railway officials raided the Karakoram Express and recovered Rs. 38,550 in fines and ticket payments. The amount was recovered from passengers who were travelling without tickets. Additionally, a Rs. 5,000 fine was given to a contractor for poor hygiene in the dining car.

The Rao Tahir in the meeting mentioned that passengers can file FIRs from any location. He also assured that protecting the belongings of passengers is the top priority of the Railway Police.

Earlier, Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi announced that modern railway station will be inaugurated in Karachi on September 10.

“In line with the Prime Minister’s vision, Pakistan Railways is implementing short- and long-term projects nationwide to modernise operations,” Hanif Abbasi said while speaking to media during his visit to Faisalabad railway station.

Abbasi highlighted that ticketing has been fully digitized, a train tracking system is active, ATMs have been installed at major stations, and Wi-Fi services are being rolled out at 40 Punjab railway stations with the support of the provincial government.