The news that "Islamabad's CCTV cameras cannot help identify faces or vehicles' number plates, Senators told" (carried by Business Recorder on Saturday), has given birth to serious questions about the efficacy of the security steps that the government has taken to deal with the profound challenge of terrorism in the country.

According to a report, the government stunned the lawmakers in Senate by revealing that 1,900 CCTV cameras installed across the federal capital under the multibillion rupees 'Safe City Project' do not have the software to identify faces.

It is undoubtedly a gross dereliction of duty. Given a spurt in terror activities in the country in recent days we cannot afford to have lax attitude towards a highly important security. It is about time the government took all the possible steps aimed at removing lacunae and bridging security gaps.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017