ISLAMABAD, April 27: The three-day hectic session of the Senate, convened on combined opposition’s requisition on April 25, was prorogued by chairman Muhammadmian Soomro on Wednesday evening after completing debate on law and order, the last item on the agenda. The opposition described the law and order situation in the country as alarming with increase in incidents of robberies, killings and kidnappings for ransom. It blamed the situation on the use of police force either for protection of VVIPs or victimization of political opponents.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao admitted that the law and order situation was not ideal. The government, he said, was taking concrete steps to streamline the judicial and policing system to improve the situation.

He termed the Police Ordinance 2002 a “revolutionary step” which, he said, would gradually improve the law and order situation. Under the plan to revamp the judicial system, the government had initiated draft laws to provide people quick and cheap justice as a result of which the burden on police would be minimized.

He said that by introducing Public Safety Commission and thereby involving parliamentarians in the maintenance of law and order was another revolutionary step which was going to provide relief to the people.

Similarly, he said, a complaint cell at the federal level was being set up to receive complaints against wrong police actions for settlement by a Supreme Court panel.

MMA’s Prof Khurshid Ahmed said the law and order situation “remains questionable” during the army rule which was expected to be an effective law enforcing agency.

He blamed the poor law and order on lack of respect of constitution by those in power or those who come to power by setting aside its operation.

The courts gave justification/validation to army rules starting in 1954 which impeded the application of justice to every law breaker and constitution violator, he said.

The state institutions, instead of protecting the rule of law, were busy violating the law of the land whereas the education system did not provide society with motivation to respect the law, he added.

Prof Khurshid said that since law enforcement was discriminatory for the elite and the common man, there was no use introducing new laws because their fate would be no different from those already in force.

Allama Abbas Kumaili complained about the law and order situation in Northern Areas and demanded that the government declare them a separate province by giving them their due rights.

He called for dealing firmly with foreigners living illegally in Karachi to arrest the crime rate in urban Sindh. He said police was arresting people randomly in Karachi and keeping them in habeas corpus for ulterior motives.