HYDERABAD, Nov 24: The incumbent and outgoing chairmen of the District Public Safety Commission, Hyderabad, Syed Jehangir Adil Hussain Shah Rizvi and Masood Pervez respectively, have stressed the need for strengthening the safety commissions.

They opposed amendments to the Police Order, 2002, to include MNAs and MPAs in the DPSC as members, saying the DPSC was a non-political body and inclusion of legislators would lead to direct political interference in the system.

Speaking at a press conference at his office on Wednesday, the newly-elected DPSC head, Jehangir Adil Shah, expressed dissatisfaction over the working of the district police.

He said response of police authorities to complaints or cases, recommended to them by the commission for action, had been quite slow. He said though police did not refuse to abide by recommendations of the DPSC, their response was slow.

Calling for a persistent struggle against police excesses, he said everyone should strive at his own level to check irregularities and anomalies. He said the commission could send recommendations to the DPO against corruption of police officers or regarding any particular complaint.

Answering a question, Mr Shah said the commission received cases in which even police officials felt aggrieved because they were not rewarded for killing bandits. The DPSC was examining whether it was in its ambit to make recommendations to this effect to the National Reconstruction Bureau or the provincial police officer and if there was any provision, the commission would take up cases of those policemen, he added.

He said the commission had to evaluate its performance and then despatch it to the NRB. Mr Shah said the DPSC's performance would improve if it was given more powers, adding that the Police Order, 2002, was being amended to make the commission more effective.

The outgoing chief and sitting member of the DPSC, Masood Pervez, said the commission could not give relief to people on the spot. He said the PPO had taken notice of a representation of the DPSC complaining that police had not responded to its complaints and had sought an explanation from the Hyderabad DPO regarding cases sent to him from time to time.

He proposed an amendment to the Police Order to make implementation of recommendations of the commission mandatory on the part of the DPO and consider the recommendations final.

He said the DPO's discretionary powers to hold his own inquiry into a case recommended by the DPSC should be done away with. He said it was the main hurdle which had rendered the DPSC ineffective.

Mr Pervez opposed induction of MNAs and MPAs in the DPSC on the ground that it would result in political interference and negate the basic theme of the Police Order. He called for formation of a provincial safety commission and a police complaint authority so that DPSCs could discuss their issues at these forums.

He criticized the Sindh finance department for not releasing budget to the DPSCs. He said in the current fiscal year not a single penny had been given to the Hyderabad DPSC. He pointed out that in Punjab DPSCs had been getting funds since they had been created.