June 29, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 13, 1428

ISLAMABAD, June 28: The National Public Safety Commission (NPSC) on Thursday expressed concern over what it called the lenient response of its chairman Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao to the bloodbath in Karachi on May 12.

One of the committee members told Dawn that the committee, which met here at National Police Bureau (NPB) headquarters under acting chairman and former interior minister Lt-Gen (retd) Moiuddin Haider, said that the commission did not fulfil its responsibility. However, being a supervisory and recommendatory body of all civil security forces, the commission should have taken necessary action, the member said.

He said that in its previous meetings, the commission had decided that its chairman should write a letter to the Inspector-General of Police of Sindh and the provincial government, making him answerable to the commission about the incident’s occurrence and the police’s role in controlling the law and order situation.

The interior minister did not attend the meeting because he was visiting China. The commission believed that its chairman would have to respond to the commission why he had not taken any notice of the incident.

The 13th meeting of the NPSC was also attended by Lt-Col (retd) Ghulam Rasul Sahi, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, Mrs Shabina Talaat, Sher Akbar Khan, Mrs Sarkar Abbas, Sikandar Hayat Jamali and Muhammad Abbas Khan. NPB’s chief Dr Mohammad Shoaib Suddle, the commission’s secretary, also attended the meeting.

The commission also discussed issues like police recruitment, training and postings and transfers.

The commission emphasized that the provincial governments needed to take urgent steps to insulate the police from undue interference.

It took note of the poor compensation levels of police and demanded that the governments needed to improve substantially and working conditions of police.

The Commission discussed the overall domestic crime situation, particularly violence against women. A draft annual policing plan was also reviewed.

However, the commission did not discuss the issue of Lal Masjid, constituting a major headache for the government.

The Commission decided to hold it next meeting in Lahore in July 2007.