KARACHI, Jan 11: Speakers at a workshop on police reforms on Tuesday observed that recent amendments made in the Police Order 2002 had politicised the police system.
The workshop on "Multi-stakeholder Dialogue Forums on Police Reforms" was organised by the Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP), and was attended by higher government functionaries, representatives of NGOs and the civil society.
Most of the participants were of the view that recent amendments introduced in the Police Order 2002 would badly affect the working of the police department, as new arrangements had been made aiming at using the police for political gains and purposes.
They observed that the amendments had deformed the spirit of the original Police Order 2002 and restored the old system of police, which was a legacy of the colonial era, and based only on serving the objectives of colonial masters.
A social worker from interior Sindh, Aijaz Memon, said that new or old, the police system did not matter. "It is the attitude of police officials that needs to be changed," he remarked.
He said the Police Act 1861 or the Police Order 2002 did not prohibit the police to register an FIR nor stop them from doing justice. He said that since the introduction of the new system, people did not feel any relief.
He said that even if a hundred new systems were introduced, people would not get relief unless the police officials changed their attitude. However, the Sindh Home Minister, Rauf Siddiqui, said that proposals would be given due consideration and those found feasible would be brought before the people, who matter.
He pointed out that when new systems were introduced, they were not accepted immediately. He described immediate dispensation of justice as the foremost need of society. He said that public-level programmes would be organised to get the people of urban and rural areas aware about their rights.
He said the police and people were compulsory for each other, and it was essential that the gap between them was eliminated. The Inspector General of Police Sindh, Syed Kamal Shah, said the police was a multi-interactive department, which dealt with every citizen, be he/she an old man, woman or a child.
He dispelled the impression that the new police order would give enormous powers to the police, and said in fact; most of its provisions were to put a check on the police.
He said that using the word "servant" for police officials was derogatory and in all fairness, the police must be termed as "people friendly". Lt-Gen (Retd) Moinuddin Haider, the former federal interior minister, expressing his views said the police order was documented at the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB).
This was the first task taken upon himself by the President, Pervez Musharraf, who was aware of the problems faced by common people under the then existing police system. He said the police order gave a free hand to police, which was demanding powers along with sharing responsibilities.
He observed that it was yet to see whether police reforms had brought any qualitative change in redressing public complaints, and whether their attitude towards people had changed.
Mr Jameel Yousuf, the former Chief of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) strongly condemned the recent amendments in the Police Order 2002, and argued that these would create a total chaos in the country.
He argued that the chief minister and legislatures should have nothing to do with routine police administration. Their role should be restricted to policy making and providing appropriate legislative framework.
He strongly objected to the amendments, which provided for inclusion of legislators in public safety commissions; requirement of chief minister's approval for posting district police officers; meeting of public safety commissions with complaint authorities; and presentation of a panel of three police officers to provinces for the position of provincial police officer by the federal government and not by the national public safety commission.
Mr Jamil also objected to the clause empowering a district nazim to sign the annual performance report (ACR) of a district police officer. Mr Jamil viewed that all amendments had been introduced by the political elite to make the police department subservient to their authority; not with the aim of promoting police interest, but to victimize their political rivals and.
Former Law Minister Iqbal Haider described the police order as inadequate and defective. He predicted that it would create major problems for policing in the country. The DIG Investigation, Akbar Arain, said that 54 amendments were made, but the relevant provisions of the police order were yet to be implemented, he said.
SSP Ghulam Sarwar Jamali said the amendments were made to politicise the police system. He said that amendments were brought in clauses, which were yet to be implemented.
He said the creation of district public safety commissions hanged in balance due to reservations by politicians. He said that amendments favouring politicians had been and now the safety commission would be constituted.
The Additional Home Secretary, Rasheed Alam, defending the amendments said the amendments would not politicize the police institution. He said that inclusion of MPAs and MNAs would not affect the system, as their inclusion was as ex-officio members, who would have no right to vote in the District Public Safety Commission. He said amendments to the police order were made after consensus was reached by all four provincial governments.
