This picture was taken at 12:00 noon on January 29, 2025, as I was about to approach Abbottabad city from the highway. It speaks volumes of our lack of attention to details. The banner displayed on behalf of the Abbottabad police at this particular gas station, in Urdu, warns the general public at large that anyone not wearing a precautionary mask would not be entertained for refueling. It appears that this particular banner dates back to the heightened security protocols when the world faced a complete lockdown, unprecedented in human history.
Interestingly, just opposite this particular banner, my camera lens captured a police inspector in uniform sitting in a chair, while a boy had placed a phone to his ear for his convenience – a luxury few could afford, except those in uniform. I wonder why this particular policeman could not notice this banner after the lockdown ended a long time back and ensure it was removed.
Abbottabad is an important city that houses the prestigious Pakistan Army Training Centre at Kakul, besides serving as the regimental centre of both the Frontier Force and Baloch Regiments.
I can only expect my hawk-eyed police friend, Nasir Mehmood Satti, as the recently posted police chief, to ensure that this particular outdated police banner is removed, which does not speak well of the police’s attentiveness to details while in the field.