KARACHI, Aug 17: Unlike the other three provinces of Pakistan, where gallantry awards announced by the president every year on Aug 14 are conferred by the respective provincial governors upon officers in elaborate ceremonies on March 23, recipients in Sindh have to make do with collecting their awards personally from the ministry of interior in Islamabad.

In fact in Sindh, the financial benefits associated with the Quaid-i-Azam Police Medal (QPM) and President’s Police Medal (PPM) are also not passed on to the recipients, unlike the other provinces where the necessary amendments have already been made to the Police Rules.

“In a recent visit to Islamabad, taking some time out of my official assignment, I collected my award as well as those of some of my senior officers from a clerk of the ministry of interior,” remarked a police officer.

Interestingly, despite repeated correspondence with the office of the inspector-general, Sindh, the provincial home department has never bothered to make an effort to amend Chapter XV, ‘Rewards,’ of the Police Rules, 1934, according to which “two rupees fifty paisas” is the rate of allowance for the recipients of gallantry awards -- still in effect in the province.

“The lethargic state of affairs is evident from the fact that recipients of the award are not even passed on the ‘two rupees fifty paisas’ reward notified in the 1934 Police Rules for the King’s Police Medal,” a police officer, on the request of anonymity, pointed out.

The QPM and PPM gallantry awards have evolved into their present form from the King’s Police Medal of British India.

The government of India at that time had considered the question whether, on the analogy of the special pensions granted to holders of certain military decorations, suitable allowances should be attached to the King’s Police Medal when awarded for an act of gallantry.

The secretary of state was accordingly addressed on the subject and the governor-general in council decided that recipients of the King’s Police Medal, or a bar to the medal, should be entitled to monetary allowances.

In March 2007, the provincial police officer wrote to the home department stating that when an act of gallantry is proved and is recognised by conferring the reward, there should not be any discrimination in granting financial benefits to different ranks of police service.

The letter proposed the schedule of financial benefits to the recipients of the gallantry awards of QPM/PPM of Sindh as under: For QPM, all ranks Rs500,000 with a monthly allowance of Rs2,000 and QPM (Bar) all ranks Rs500,000 with a monthly allowance of Rs1,500.

Similarly, for PPM all ranks Rs300,000 with a monthly allowance of Rs1,500 and PPM (Bar) all ranks Rs300,000 with a monthly allowance of Rs1,200.

The letter also suggested that the past recipients of these awards may also be given financial benefits as per the proposed rates.

Earlier, in July 2005 a similar letter from the office of the PPO Sindh was sent to the National Police Bureau, ministry of interior, proposing a schedule in respect of financial benefits.

The Punjab police took the lead in October 2002 by making an amendment to the Police Rules, Appendix 15-20(I-B), passing on the financial benefits to the recipients of the gallantry awards by notifying allowance rates for QPM as Rs300,000 and PPM Rs200,000.

Putting aside the monetary benefits, conferment of an award in a ceremony where a citation is read out in front of guests in the Governor House is a dream for any officer, especially a young officer.

But police officers posted in Sindh generally don’t see much charm in these gallantry awards at a time when their counterparts in Punjab and other provinces outshine them by enjoying the ceremonial and financial benefits of the awards.

“Had there been any possibility of monetary benefit from the award for the officials of the home department, they might have gone ahead with the required amendment, passing it on to the law department,” remarked an officer.