September 11, 2002	Wednesday	Rajab 3, 1423

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PESHAWAR, Sept 10: District Nazimeen and police officials discussed their role and responsibilities in the new administrative setup in an attempt to improve the working relationship.

While attending a day-long workshop on Monday, some of the Nazimeen and police officials held each other responsible for a confrontation-like situation between them over certain issues, lending negative impact to the progress and effectiveness of the new system introduced on Aug 14, 2001.

However, the participants were unanimous that by better understanding of the new system the situation could be rectified.

The two sides, represented by the Nazimeen and Naib Nazimeen of different districts and senior police officials from various parts of the province, exchanged their bitter experiences involving each other.

The workshop was jointly organized by the local government and rural development department and the UNDP-funded Essential Institutional Reforms Operationalization Programme.

Karak SP Mohammed Ali Babakhel said that under the new law Nazimeen were supposed to work with the police as a team member to resolve the issues instead of acting as an opponent of the police.

He said there were around 700 laws and one should be aware of the laws before exercising one’s power. Citing an example, he said a Naib Nazim instructed an SHO not to arrest an accused nominated in the FIR, without knowing that he did not have the authority to pass on such instructions.

Similarly, he said, the home and tribal affairs department had to issue a notification barring the district Nazimeen and local governments from interfering in the recruitment of constables after the authorities concerned came to know that the Nazimeen, in some instances, were exerting pressure in the process.

The SP’s contention was countered by Masoom Shah, the Tehsil Nazim of Charsadda, who said the situation was different than the picture presented by the SP.

The Tehsil Nazim said he had been told that senior police functionaries had committed misuse of power by getting recruited their favourites, an impression instantly rejected by IG Saeed Khan. The inspector general said that the recruitment process had been transparent and based on merit.

The district Nazim of Kohat, Malick Asad, maintained that the police authorities in his home district had tried to get recruited their favourites.

The SP said the district-based system had been run without any mechanism during its first year of introduction, credit for which, he added, also went to the district Nazimeen. NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah and Local Government Minister Athar Minallah spoke on the opening session of the workshop.