Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has ordered a strict province-wide crackdown against the open display of firearms and the use of Toyota Hilux pickup trucks as tools of intimidation.
The newly established Crime Control Department (CCD), formed to directly target criminal behavior and social disorder, has been tasked with enforcing the new directive.
According to Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) Sohail Zafar Chatha, CCD officers will take “indiscriminate action” against individuals or groups who display weapons in public or use vehicles in a manner that spreads fear.
“Spreading fear and panic in society and displaying weapons cannot be allowed at all,” Chatha stated. He confirmed that more than 21,000 Safe City cameras will be used to track offenders, with artificial intelligence technology assisting in identifying those brandishing firearms.
The crackdown also targets a growing trend of using Toyota Hilux vehicles—often seen speeding through traffic, sirens blaring or lights flashing, with heavily armed guards in the back—as a show of power and dominance.
The vehicles, commonly associated with wealth and influence, have increasingly been used to intimidate ordinary citizens on the road.