The Peshawar Safe City Project marks a monumental leap for the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in terms of security infrastructure, technological advancement, and urban transformation.
With an estimated cost of Rs 2.2 billion and a completion target set for October 2025, the Peshawar Safe City initiative represents a bold vision for public safety, smart policing, and the future of urban governance in Pakistan.
Innovative CCTV Infrastructure
The installation of 710 advanced CCTV cameras forms the backbone of the Peshawar Safe City Project. Unlike the standard CCTV systems used in other parts of Pakistan, these cameras are 12-megapixels—a significant upgrade over the usual 8-megapixel cameras used in previous projects.
Work on the installation of these cameras has already commenced, with the aim of covering 125 critical locations across Peshawar by October 2025.
These strategic locations will include traffic hotspots, highly populated areas, public squares, and other sensitive zones, ensuring maximum surveillance and coverage throughout the city.
The project will utilize AI to automatically detect suspicious activity, such as vehicle plate recognition, facial recognition, and behavioral analysis. This AI-powered system will help the Peshawar Police identify criminals, locate stolen vehicles, and track suspects in real-time.
In addition, when the system identifies a suspect vehicle or suspicious behavior, it will immediately alert the emergency police patrols, ensuring rapid intervention.
Another critical feature of the Safe City Project is its integration with traffic management systems. In an effort to reduce traffic violations, the project introduces an e-challan system.
The Role of a Central Command and Control Center
A central command and control center is a crucial part of the Peshawar Safe City Project. This facility will serve as the nerve center for monitoring the CCTV cameras, processing AI data, and coordinating with law enforcement agencies.
The command center will also play a critical role in managing the vast amount of data generated by the surveillance system, ensuring its proper analysis and integration with police databases.
Over time, the central command and control center will become the focal point for the overall security ecosystem of Peshawar and its surrounding regions.
As part of the Safe City Project’s long-term vision, the government plans to extend the smart surveillance model to other cities across KP, including Mardan, Kohat, Nowshera, Swat, and Abbottabad.
This regulatory body will oversee the standards for CCTV camera installations, monitor data integration, and establish guidelines for public-private partnerships in surveillance systems across the province.
