June 3, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 2, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, June 2: Registering a fake FIR will be an offence under Police Order-2002, National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) Chairman Daniyal Aziz told reporters at a press briefing on Monday.

The new police order, he said, would discourage registering of fake and cross FIRs (first investigation report) which were lodged to provide protection to the guilty.

Another official of the NRB said people could be sent behind bars for at least six months for registering fake FIRs.

He said that before the implementation of Police Order-2000, station house officers (SHOs) used to file cross FIRs so that they could receive bribe from both the aggrieved and accused parties.

The NRB chief said the NWFP government had some reservation over the implementation of the police order. It had sent letters to the NRB to make some amendments to the law according to the requirements and demands of the province.

Mr Aziz said the Sindh government had introduced a new system under which FIRs could also be lodged in post offices.

The system, he said, had been introduced in only one province, and it might be followed by other provinces in future.

He said police complaint authorities (PCA) were being established in all the four provinces in the country. They could also file FIRs if the relevant police stations refused to register them, he added.

Speaking about financial needs, he said the federal and provincial governments would provide funds for the new police system.

Replying to a question about any change in the crime rate since the implementation of Police Order-2000, he said the order was implemented in the country in 2002, and “before completion of one year, it is very difficult to compare the crime rate of current year with the previous years”.

Answering a query about the NRB budget, he said the bureau would have Rs65 million budget for fiscal 2003-04.

He said police reforms as envisaged in the police order 2002, would change the colonial mindset of Pakistani police.

The police order, he said, had redefined the police role in accordance with the current development requirements of the country.