Court Dismisses Case Over Commercial Use of Safe City Project Data

News Desk
KARACHI: A local court in Karachi has dismissed a petition seeking the registration of a criminal case against private bank officials for allegedly utilizing the state-of-the-art Safe City Project infrastructure to track and identify bank-defaulted vehicles.
The legal proceedings initiated in the Additional Sessions Court (South) brought to light unauthorized linkages between private financial institutions and critical public surveillance networks.
The petitioner argued that utilizing a sensitive government security apparatus for commercial debt recovery constitutes a grave misuse of state resources and breaches citizens’ data privacy.
The disclosure has triggered widespread concern among civil society and digital rights advocates regarding the commercial exploitation of public surveillance systems. Originally designed exclusively for law enforcement, traffic management, and counter-terrorism operations, the Safe City framework’s integration with private entities raises serious questions about data governance, oversight mechanisms, and the security of citizen information.
Legal experts anticipate that the court’s dismissal may be challenged in a higher judicial forum.
Meanwhile, civil liberties organizations are demanding a transparent internal audit of the Safe City infrastructure to prevent any future exploitation of government assets for private commercial gains.