March 18, 2007	Sunday	Safar 28, 1428

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LAHORE, March 17: The recent police-lawyer clashes in Lahore have raised the question that who is legally responsible for handling the law and order situation on behalf of the government.

The city witnessed a series of clashes this week for the first time after the elimination of the office of district magistrate or the deputy commissioner who earlier were responsible for handling law and order, even with powers to order shooting to control turbulence.

Senior government officers monitored the situation on Saturday sitting in their offices in the Civil Secretariat and said they had no authority to control police.

“We are helplessly watching the situation because of legal constraints. It is the job of the district nazim to control the situation but he is not in his office,” one official said.

After recent amendments to the Police Order of 2002, the provincial government could only provide guidance to police to ensure autonomy of the force, a senior administrative officer said, adding previously the province did not even have this much power.

In pursuance of the authority, government officials, including the chief secretary and the home secretary, were available to police for advice.

The chief secretary asked police to allow a free passage to lawyers when the Lahore High Court registrar contacted him on telephone in late afternoon on Saturday.

He also clearly asked the inspector general not to arrest any lawyer when the latter approached him on telephone for an advice.

“Do not arrest any one as the government does not want to create any controversy. We have great regard for lawyers who are part of the bench,” he reportedly asked the IGP.

Senior officials reportedly did receive regular calls from the provincial police officer (IGP) for advice during the clashes, feeling unable to find any method to practically do anything to stop police-lawyer clashes around the Lahore High Court.

They said police also violated the law by involving investigation police to confront the lawyers as it was the duty of operations police to control the mob.

A senior official said that primarily District Nazim Mian Amer Mehmood was responsible for law and order. He claimed that the nazim was contacted to remind him of his job but he (nazim) said he was busy somewhere in Gulberg.

The official quoted the Police Order to support his claim that the responsibility of handling any law and order had been shifted from the defunct deputy commissioner to the district nazim.

He said under sections 33 and 34 of the police order, the police department was accountable to the district nazim.

He said that under the district nazim’s directions, the district coordination officer was responsible for coordinating with police in exigencies threatening law and order.

It was learnt that the Home Department had imposed section 144 on March 14, disallowing public rallies on The Mall, through the district nazim.

“This is a legal obligation under the new system. It shows that the government cannot impose section 144 without the permission of the nazim,” an official said.

He said police had single-handedly handled the situation.

He said under the policy guidelines police were asked to refrain from disrupting the lawyers’ convention inside the Lahore High Court and there was also no direction to disallow the media from covering the convention and events outside the LHC.

Officials said lawyers were not allowed to come out on The Mall because there was a ban on rallies for the safety of public life and property. The ban was imposed after the last year’s violent rallies against controversial caricatures published in several newspapers.

Dawn learnt that the Supreme Court had called the inspector general and the chief secretary on Tuesday to explain their position for riots in Lahore.