Pakistan is preparing to launch a unified emergency helpline called ‘PEHEL-911’ as part of its Digital Pakistan initiative.
According to the details, the Ministry of Information Technology has finalized the plan to merge all the emergency response numbers into the 911 helpline.
The pilot project that is being executed by the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) and the Digital Pakistan initiative of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (IT&T) will initially be launched in Islamabad with a backup in Lahore.
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Minister for IT&T Syed Aminul Haq revealed that his ministry and the Ministry of Interior will jointly introduce the project for unified and one-window access to all the emergency services.
He said,
While we will provide technical support and develop the backend infrastructure, the Interior Ministry will ensure its implementation by forging coordination among various emergency response services at the federal and provincial level[s].
Presently, there are different contact numbers for a variety of emergency services, including the fire brigade, police, health assistance, disaster recovery, motorway police, etc.
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Once the new project is launched, citizens will only have to dial 911 and they will be directed to the relevant government agency.
