Islamabad Safe City cameras: up to Rs 2 million fine per camera under new ordinance

Breaking or helping someone break a Safe City camera in Islamabad can now cost up to Rs 2 million per camera. President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the Capital Territory Safe City Camera and Surveillance Infrastructure Protection and Damage Compensation Ordinance on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to the President Secretariat. It was announced on 26 September and applies to the Islamabad Capital Territory.

What the ordinance does

• Fine: up to Rs 2 million for each damaged camera or piece of surveillance equipment. Ten cameras means a possible bill of up to Rs 20 million.
• Who can be fined: anyone who damages the equipment, and anyone who encourages or incites the damage.
• Organisers are liable: the organisers of a rally, procession, sit-in, protest, strike or other gathering can be held responsible for damage caused during it.
• Who decides: an authorised officer fixes the amount after giving the accused a chance to be heard.
• Appeal: within 30 days, before the District and Sessions Judge, Islamabad.
• Unpaid fines: recovered as arrears of land revenue, the same route the state uses for unpaid land dues.
• Where the money goes: repair and replacement of the cameras and surveillance network.

The reports do not mention a jail term; this is a compensation law aimed at recovering the cost of the equipment.

Why it matters in Islamabad

The Safe City network is the capital's camera grid for policing and traffic. Camera challans in the capital also depend on it. The ordinance arrives as the government counts the cost of shutdowns: the finance minister recently put the economic loss from protests at Rs 120 billion a day.

By putting the bill on organisers as well as individuals, the ordinance shifts the risk onto parties and groups that call marches into the capital.

What it means for you

• If you organise a gathering in Islamabad, you can be asked to pay for cameras damaged by the crowd, even if you did not touch them. Keep a record of your stewarding arrangements and any police permission.
• If you are fined, you have the right to be heard before the amount is set, and 30 days to appeal to the Sessions Court.
• If you drive in Islamabad, nothing changes day to day, but the cameras that issue challans are now protected by a much bigger penalty. See our e-challan check guide for Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad to check and pay any camera challan.

What happens next

An ordinance has the force of law from promulgation but lapses unless Parliament passes it as an act within the constitutional period, so expect a bill in the National Assembly.