Prank calls creating nuisance for rescuers

Rescue 1122 has sent the phone numbers of fake callers to various telephone companies

Some 90 percent calls at the emergency number of Rescue 1122 in the newly merged tribal districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province have been prank as they besides misleading the rescue teams here are proving to be a nuisance for the call attendants at the facility.

In the seven tribal districts of the KP, the Kurram District has recorded the most number of prank calls followed by Bajur and Orakzai tribal districts.

A rescue official in the Khyber district told Bol News that there are three emergency lines at every district office, and if the general public keeps them busy irrelevantly, then the ones who are really in need of rescue services do not get to avail the facility. Those who repeatedly keep calling the rescue numbers unnecessarily, we block their numbers for 24 hours, but this is not the solution, he commented.

After FATA’s merger with the province, the service of Rescue 1122 was for the first time extended to the tribal districts of the KP. The extension was aimed to strengthen the emergency services in Mohmand, Bajaur, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai and North and South Waziristan districts; responding to the incidents including bombings, suicide attacks and medical emergencies.

Kurram District

According to the data available on the website of Rescue 1122, the total calls received by the service in Kurram District was 1,04278 out of which 76,420 were found fake. While out of the correct calls, the department responded to 2404 emergency call out of which some 155 were relating fire incidents, and 10, 336 related to medical emergencies in the Kurram District.

Khyber District

The data here reveals that Rescue 1122 in the Khyber District received a total number of 4,20,645 calls at the emergency line out of which some 60,598 were prank. On the other hand, the department responded to 4,643 emergency incidents, 825 road accidents, 176 crime incidents, 8 blasts/explosions, while 4,832 patients were rescued in the district.

Mohmand District

Similarly, the Mohmand District received a total number of 37,814 emergency calls out of which 20,104 calls were prank. Out of the righteous calls made to the emergency service, the department responded to 7531 calls relating to blasts/explosion, while 7532 patients were provided emergency services.

Bajur District

However, in the Bajur tribal district, the Rescue 1122 office received 1,37,625 emergency calls on the Hotline out of which 70,651 were misleading. Out of the valid calls, the district office responded to some 5804 emergency calls including 3994 relating to medical emergencies, 132 relating to fire incidents while 198 were crime incidents.

Orakzai District

Similarly, in the Orakzai District, the emergency services have so far received 60, 450 calls out of which 50, 598 calls were prank. The rescue department responded to 2626 emergency calls out of which some 2122 related to medical emergencies in the tribal district here.

North & South Waziristan

Moreover, the data of North Waziristan and South Waziristan was found missing on the official website of the Rescue 1122.

The irrelevant callers clog the Rescue helpline potentially hindering access to emergency services for those who are genuinely in need of it.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over the last two years, the first responder service received over 7.4 million fake and irrelevant calls on the emergency numbers. The prank calls increased from roughly 3.2 million in 2020 to nearly 4.2 million in the year 2021.

On contacting, Bilal Ahmad Faizi, Spokesman provincial Rescue 1122 said the provincial government has extended the service to the integrated districts in order to provide timely and professional support to the citizens.

Responding to a question, the spokesman said a toll-free number was setup to facilitate people at times of emergency and distress, but unfortunately some insensitive and mindless people have portrayed irresponsible attitude by misusing the facility. He said that the main issue faced by the telephone operator of the Hotline is that unscrupulous people call up this number and ask for easy load, food recipes, and even demand chit chat with the operator.

Faizi added that such irresponsible attitude is not only restricted to the tribal areas, but people even in the cities have reportedly misused the facility.

Responding to another question, he said that prank calls at the emergency telephone lines comes under the Telegraph Act that includes both imprisonment and fines under the Pakistan Penal Code.

The rescue official said that there have been instances where cases were registered, but in most cases the authorities refrain from pursuing legal proceedings due to the large number of calls as taking the cases to the court of law would have been a tedious job, he added.

However, he informed that Rescue 1122 has sent the phone numbers of fake callers to various telephone companies and has also sent letters to their residential addresses. The action has received a positive result so far, Faizi added.

He claimed that Rescue 1122 is providing regular awareness to the public via media to overcome the issue. The department has also spread awareness in various schools, colleges, universities, public and private institutions in this regard, furthermore he claimed.

The spokesman Rescue1122 has urged the general public to show responsibility with regard to the usage of the service which is being rendered free of charge for the good of all and sundry.