Lahore police issue new SOPs for mid-road police checkpoints

SAHIWAL: A new set of standard operating procedures (SOP) has been released for mid-road police checkpoints in light of the tragic Sahiwal killings, Geo News reported.

According to the new SOPs, issued through the office of superintendent of police in Lahore, any vehicle failing to stop at a police checkpoint when signalled to do so will not be fired at and, instead, a wireless message will be used to force the vehicle to halt.

The new SOPs further suggest that any kind of protest or resistance during a police checkpoint search would be inadvisable and that only vehicles considered to be suspicious would be asked to stop.

Civilians should not be harassed unnecessarily, the instructions note, and that vehicle documents should not be sought or verified while on duty.

The checking of suspicious cars and pedestrians should only be carried out via phones, the SOPs add.