PESHAWAR, Nov 26: The much-awaited ordinance to replace the Police Act, 1861, is expected to be promulgated within a week.

Sources in the police department said with the promulgation of the Police Ordinance, 2001, legal hindrances in the way of formation of national, provincial and district public safety commissions would be removed.

An official of the department said that although the bureaucracy in all the four provinces had expressed reservations about assigning certain powers to the police, the federal government had decided to go ahead with the introduction of the law which would finally brought to an end the century-old Police Act.

He stated that the provincial governments had claimed that law and order was a provincial subject, therefore, all the four governments should be allowed to introduce their own laws. He said under the new law the district police officers not below the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police would be appointed.

The official said that massive reshuffle in the police department was on the cards in line with the proposed police reforms.

The Nazim of Peshawar City District, Azam Khan Afridi, said that the new law was expected to be promulgated in the next couple of days. He said after promulgation of the law the district public safety commission would be formed. He said the proposed police reforms would be accomplished with that law.

The National Public Safety Commission, which will comprise 12 members, will provide policy guidelines on matters concerning general planning, development and standardization of police administration, police education and training.

An official attached with the reforms process told Dawn that the law was expected in August, but instead of introducing it the federal government promulgated the Police (Amendment) Order, 2001, through which amendments were made to the Police Act.

He said even under those amendments the concept of district public safety commissions was given, but the government had been moving with snail’s pace on the formation of these commissions.

Under the forthcoming law, the district police chief would be empowered to make regulations for various matters including regulating all kinds of traffic, closing certain streets temporarily, regulating the conduct of or behaviours or actions of persons constituting assemblies, prohibiting the placement of building material and licencing or controlling places of public amusement etc.