LAHORE, Jan 25: Terming the law and order situation in the province alarming, Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi on Tuesday ordered a province-wide operation against the gangs involved in theft, armed robbery and other crimes immediately.
This direction was given by the chief minister while presiding over a high-level meeting held here on Tuesday to brief him about the law and order situation in the province. The meeting was also attended by Chief Secretary Kamran Rasul, Home Secretary Hassan Waseem Afzal, IGP Sa'adatullah Khan and all the DIGs.
He said the police should implement the action plan prepared for the eradication of heinous crimes through a new strategy. Concrete steps were required for controlling crime in view of the alarming law and order in the province.
Stern action, he said, should be taken against the elements harbouring the criminals. The police officers should not only make possible the arrest of criminals but also make concerted efforts for proper follow up of the cases in courts to ensure their conviction.
The CM said that the people purchasing the stolen goods should also be proceeded against. He said the operation launched against the cattle lifters had produced good results.
He also stressed the need for taking concrete steps for improvement in the law and order situation during Muharram. The DIGs and DPOs should inspect the routes of 'Azadari' processions besides beefing up the security of the holy places.
Steps of fundamental nature were also required for improvement in the 'thana' culture, he said and added that the families becoming the target of theft or armed robbery were perturbed and felt insecure. The police officials dealing with them should be aware of their state of mind and adopt a sympathetic attitude towards them.
The chief minister said that complaints were received against the police not only through the assembly but also through the press and other forums. He said steps were required to be taken on war footing for providing justice to the people and restoring their sense of security.
He said that he had assigned top priority to law and order at the time of assumption of office and not only accepted most of the demands of police officials but also allocated more funds than the provincial resources for providing them facilities to enable them to discharge their duties in an efficient manner.
The CM reminded the police officers that he had asked them only to create a sense of security among the people while accepting their demands for funds and facilities. He said that he was telling them with regrets that they had failed to honour their commitments.
He made it clear to the police officers that he had decided not to wait any further and judge their performance only by the standard of results and the confidence of the general public.
He said that he would assess the law and order situation in the light of the experience of the people instead of figures and charts. The law and order, he said, meant the confidence of the common man on the law and his feeling of being secure.
He would consider the police performance improving only if the people living in rural and urban areas were feeling secure and were convinced about the prevalence of the rule of law. Their claims of improvement in law and order would be meaningless as long as the people lacked the sense of security.
The CM directed the DIGs to take concrete steps for making the inspection system more effective, give up the habit of sitting in their offices and start going into the field and convene meetings for establishing direct contact with their SPs and SHOs. Action should also be taken against all the officials whose neglect or connivance had helped the criminals escape from the police custody, he added.
