LAHORE, March 31: The proposed police law gives powers of a secretary to the IGP and is silent on improving the working at police station level, concentrating only on the betterment of police bureaucracy.

At present, the IGP is the head of an attached department of the provincial home department. But the new law will give him financial and administrative powers of a secretary to the government, mentioning nothing as to what will be the role of the home secretary.

Sources said on Sunday that the Police Ordinance, 2002, had once again been sent to the provinces for their final comments despite their earlier objections. The provinces would express nothing but their reservations about the draft law with further detail, they said.

The sources said the authorities in the Punjab had been asked to conceptually examine the draft law to check whether it was in consonance with the Constitution and in line with the provincial autonomy and the devolution plan. They would also check whether it was cost-effective and could help the general public and improve the overall policing.

They said so far as the law’s constitutional status was concerned, almost all the provinces including the Punjab had earlier declared that it could only be promulgated by them. The Punjab would stick to its stand, they said.

The sources revealed that the draft law was meant only for the betterment of police bureaucracy and was silent on the resolution of the basic problem of improving police stations.

“Its total emphasis is on protecting the interests of senior officers and not on improving the working at thana level which is the basic policy unit for the administration of criminal justice in Pakistan,” they said.

According to the sources, the draft law allowed the creation of so many posts of additional IGPs, DIGs and SSPs. “Nothing of this sort has yet happened in the Punjab, but they have already introduced three new posts of additional IGPs in Sukkur, Karachi and Hyderabad. But cities like Lahore are soon going to have additional IGPs,” they said.

At present, there are only two such posts in the Punjab which are additional IGP (CPO) and additional IGP special branch.

The sources pointed out that no-one had worked out the cost of the game plan as mentioned in the draft law but it was written on the wall that it would require billions of rupees to implement it. “And the problem is that the country at present does not have this much money to spare only for restructuring police,” they said.

They reiterated that the law would exclude the role of the provincial chief minister in the affairs of police right from the appointment of the IGP and his removal, to the posting of all SPs and others.

The IGP would be selected by the federal government from amongst a panel of three officers to be recommended by the safety commission. His tenure would be of three years and the provincial government would not be able to remove him without the consent of the safety commission.

Under Section 32 of the draft law, the district police plan would be made by the district police officer after an approval by the public safety commission concerned, giving no role to the government in the entire process. “This means that police will enjoy the real power,” they said.

They said separate tribunals would be created for police who used to be covered by normal services tribunals.