01
CCTV REFERENCE EVIDENCE
27.67 cameras / 1k
410,297 reported cameras in Lahore. The study notes that 400,000 mapped private cameras are included in Lahore’s figure.
Open CCTV sourceTHE EVIDENCE STACK
Seven records
Different claims
Every measure has its own source, date, and scope. The country profile keeps them distinct by design.
FACE / BIOMETRIC
Documented active use
Safe City networks in major cities · 2016–2025
Public reporting describes facial-recognition capability in Safe City networks, but the first extension does not calculate a national deployment intensity.
AI USE SCOPE
Facial identification
2024-02 · Medium confidence
Public reporting describes AI-powered criminal identification in Safe City contexts. The pilot does not convert this into a national intensity measure.
Evidence is centred on provincial and city Safe City programmes; public detail on operational decision-making is limited.
Biometric Update · AI identificationPRIVATE-CAMERA LINK
Documented networked camera ecosystem
Punjab / Lahore · 2025-07
Associated Press of Pakistan reports a PSCA process linking owner-authorised business cameras to its Safe City network; it does not prove routine access to every private feed.
SAFEGUARDS CONTEXT
15.8 / 100
WJP 2025 Factor 4.6: protection from arbitrary interference with privacy in practice. The score changed -4.2 points from 2024.
Open WJP sourceSUPPLIER / PROCUREMENT
Documented record
Huawei
Punjab Safe Cities equipment agreement for CCTV cameras, vehicle-mounted cameras, and a command-and-control system.
This is an older journalistic record of a named agreement; it does not establish the current configuration or later provincial deployments.
The Express Tribune — Safe Cities equipment agreementINCIDENTS & REDRESS
Evidence gap
Review completed 2026-08 · Pilot evidence review
No incident record published in this pilot release
The first review did not locate a sufficiently accessible, surveillance-specific incident record that meets the Editorial & Evidence Protocol’s publication threshold.
Initial candidates require a more accessible primary judicial or inquiry record and a tighter surveillance-specific scope before publication.
No comparable public source located in this reviewOpen incidents & redressDATA INFRASTRUCTURE & JURISDICTION
Where data may sit, and what can govern it
These are separate contextual records. Data-centre capacity is not evidence of surveillance access; legal powers are not evidence of their use.
CONTEXT, NOT PROOF
Some national policy instruments are draft, pending, or sector-specific, limiting cross-country comparability.
Medium confidenceGovernment data-centre context
2022–2026
Cloud First policy material and National Telecommunication Corporation information describe government cloud and Tier III facilities; no comparable nationwide facility total is used.
Sensitive government-data policy
2022
Cloud First policy distinguishes secret and sensitive government information; wider personal-data legislation remains in flux.
Government cloud framework
2022
The published Cloud First policy sets a government-cloud direction and identifies NTC G-Cloud as part of the environment.
Provider-disclosure powers
2016
PECA and related material provide a public legal basis for specified investigative disclosure. This does not evidence actual access to a named provider.
SOURCE HISTORY
When the record changed.
The timeline preserves source vintages and review dates so changes can be examined rather than announced without a record.
- 2024
- 2025-06CCTV evidence source
Lahore: 410,297 reported cameras; 27.67 per 1,000 people in the documented reference place.
Open source - 2025
- 2016–2025Facial-recognition record
Public reporting describes facial-recognition capability in Safe City networks, but the first extension does not calculate a national deployment intensity.
Open source - 2025-07Camera-integration record
Associated Press of Pakistan reports a PSCA process linking owner-authorised business cameras to its Safe City network; it does not prove routine access to every private feed.
Open source - 2024-02AI use-scope record
Facial identification · Live public space · Unknown. Public reporting describes AI-powered criminal identification in Safe City contexts. The pilot does not convert this into a national intensity measure.
Open source - 2016-05Supplier / procurement record
Punjab Safe Cities equipment agreement for CCTV cameras, vehicle-mounted cameras, and a command-and-control system.
Open source - 2022–2026Data-infrastructure context
Cloud First policy material and National Telecommunication Corporation information describe government cloud and Tier III facilities; no comparable nationwide facility total is used.
Open source - 2016Lawful-access context
PECA and related material provide a public legal basis for specified investigative disclosure. This does not evidence actual access to a named provider.
Open source - Review completed 2026-08Incident / redress record
Evidence gap: The first review did not locate a sufficiently accessible, surveillance-specific incident record that meets the Editorial & Evidence Protocol’s publication threshold.
No comparable public source located in this review - 2026-08Layer evidence review
Record category: Paired layer record. This version preserves gaps rather than treating them as evidence of absence.
No comparable public source located in this review
REVIEWED PUBLIC UPDATES
Accepted additions and corrections.
Community submissions remain private until an editor checks the source, scope, and status. Only accepted changes appear here.
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