Smart cities and security: Need of the hour?

Kaleemullah WRITING in a contemporary newspaper, Nighat Dad, a digital rights advocate, offered a critical comment on the idea of a 'smart city': it is not built of sensors and data; it is built of trust. And trust, once breached by surveillance without accountability, cannot be reinstalled like a software patch. This is the central argument around smart cities: the promise of order against the risk of control. In Pakistan, where the distance between protection and persecution has often been no wider than a single government directive, this question is urgent. Principally, the idea of a smart city rests on integrating information and communication technology into urban infrastructure to improve safety, efficiency and quality of life. Technically, smart cities use IoT devices, AI-driven traffic systems, environmental sensors and predictive policing algorithms to govern urban life. Singapore's Smart Nation initiative is a case in point. Launched in 2014, it employs smart lampposts equipped with surveillance cameras and environmental sensors to monitor public spaces. Similarly, Barcelona uses AI technology to forecast energy needs and mobility flows, demonstrating the environmental and traffic-management benefits of smart cities. Amid its rapidly growing population, Pakistan faces enormous pressure on infrastructure and public services. Initiatives such as Lahore's Safe Cities project and Punjab Urban Unit reflect Pakistan's entry into the smart city era. However, Karachi, the country's economic engine, offers a sombre case. With a population of over 20 million, the city struggles with crumbling drainage, irregular electricity and chronic governance failures. The government's Digital Pakistan vision carries enormous potential but requires stronger regulatory and legal safeguards. A smart city at the expense of civil liberties is not a smart city; it is an Orwellian world. Despite these challenges, smart cities offer significant security opportunities. Early-warning technology can reduce chaos during floods, while environmental sensors can help tackle pollution. Smart traffic management can reduce accidents, a leading cause of urban deaths in Pakistan. Health infrastructure linked to smart grids can improve emergency response, while CCTV networks can strengthen law and order. The risks, however, are multifold. IoT devices and cameras are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, while citizens' data can be stolen or misused. A 2024 Islamabad High Court judgment highlighted concerns over the interception of citizens' telecom data without judicial oversight. Facial-recognition systems also carry risks of bias. As digital rights advocate Haroon Baloch described it, LIMS has created 'a panoptic lens' to monitor and track citizens. The world's successful smart city initiatives share a common principle: they build public trust alongside public infrastructure. For Pakistan, the path to truly smart cities demands more than sensors. It requires a comprehensive data protection and privacy law, mandatory cybersecurity standards for IoT deployments, judicial oversight of state surveillance and deliberate inclusion of Karachi's katchiabadis and Sindh's rural districts. Smart cities can protect ordinary citizens and provide a deep sense of security. Pakistan stands at a crossroads: the technology exists and urban pressures demand it, but the institutions, legal frameworks and civic traditions needed to transform it remain works in progress. To build a smart city without a smart society is to build a beautiful house on sand. —The writer is an MPhil scholar. ([email protected])