October 15, 2008	Wednesday	Shawwal 15, 1429

KARACHI, Oct 14: The Provincial Public Safety and Police Complaints Commission disposed of just 64 of the 320 complaints against police excesses lodged with it since its formal activation in June last year. The remaining complaints are still being investigated. This was observed during a presentation given to Chief Secretary Fazal-ur-Rehman by the commission’s senior officials recently, it is reliably learnt.

The inordinate delay was attributed to “a slow response from the relevant police authorities to the commission’s references seeking preliminary inquiry reports.”

The chief secretary, taking notice of the commission’s poor performance, asked the home department to ensure a quick response from the police officials concerned so that the purpose of setting up the institution was served.

He also asked the provincial police officer (PPO) to submit the annual policing plan with the competent authority and the commission, as required under Article 80(f) of the Police Order 2002.

He stressed the need for maintaining close coordination between the Sindh police and the commission. He directed the secretary of the general administration department to ensure an expedited processing of those public complaints against police which came through the offices of the president and the prime minister, as well as the Sindh government. He said the complaints should be sent directly to the commission to ensure their early disposal.

Setting up of the Provincial Public Safety and Police Complaints Commission is obligatory under the Police Order 2002. But the institution in Sindh was established after a lapse of four years (in June 2006) and it took another year to set up and activate its secretariat. The commission is yet to launch its website.

The commission has to have 12 members, six of them members of the assembly. A reference has been sent to the Sindh Assembly speaker requesting him to nominate the MPAs to the commission under Article 74 of the Police Order 2002.

An amount of Rs20.4 million has been allocated under the ADP to strengthen the capability of the commission. Some 37 posts in the commission are yet to be filled.

The chief secretary, taking notice of the poor performance of the commission, has asked its officials to formulate recommendations at the earliest to streamline the police department in terms of integrity and efficiency.

“The PPO and the entire police cadre must respond promptly to any reference of the commission addressed to them,” the chief secretary stressed.