KARACHI: A top-ranking police officer has proposed to the provincial government to introduce legislation to curb the growing involvement of senior police officers in business, using their power and influence to provide benefits to their families, relatives and friends, it emerged on Sunday.
“It may be moved to the government of Sindh that conflict of interest law may be passed in order to hamper and eradicate corporate and criminal policing,” read a letter recently written by the additional inspector general of police, counter-terrorism department, Sindh, Dr Sanaullah Abbasi, to the inspector general of police, Sindh, A.D. Khowaja. A copy of the letter has been obtained by Dawn.
It has also been proposed that senior officers from grade 17 onwards should also be held accountable for their wrongdoings as at present only low-ranking policemen were being subjected to scrutiny.
This and other proposals have been submitted in view of a departmental inquiry against a police officer of grade 19 who was allegedly found involved in such illegal practices.
The letter recommended penal and departmental actions against the SSP as “prima facie allegations” against the officer stood “substantiated”.
“In order to be fair and transparent and impartial, all cases of the similar nature may also be sorted out from different units/ ranges of the police with particular reference to the senior police officers from grade 17 onwards to take departmental and penal action against them.”
The letter also called for taking department and penal actions against senior officers who were already facing inquiries by the provincial government’s Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
It has been suggested that first the police department should initiate legal action against officers with patchy record and information about all pending cases should be sought from the relevant organisations.
“As parent department is first line of defence against misconduct and action, so similar reports may also be sought from the ACE, NAB and FIA to take departmental action against senior police officers,” the letter read.
It has been pointed out in the letter that such steps would be in spirit of the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s recent orders in which the apex court had directed the police authorities to initiate action against all officers from constable to DIG who have a “patchy record”.
Meanwhile, talking to Dawn on Sunday, CTD Sindh chief Dr Sanaullah Abbasi said the issue of conflict of interests was growing in the police department as certain officers were using their official position to further their private businesses.
“Generally, this issue of conflict of interest was serious but it was more acute in the police department mainly because of involvement of power and influence, which the police officers enjoy,” said the CTD head. “Because there are more chances that the police officers would exercise their powers to benefit themselves, their relatives and friends.” Furthermore, due to war on terror, law enforcement agencies have been give vast powers.
“Those institutions, which enjoyed more powers should be subjected to more accountability,” said Dr Abbasi.
He said he had prepared a draft of a bill against ‘conflict of interest’ in the police.
He said recently the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had also introduced a conflict of interest law in the police department to discourage corporate interests of police officers.
Answering a question, Dr Abbasi said there were around 20 to 25 senior police officers who were facing inquiries over a host of issues ranging from corrupt practices to misuse of powers. But those cases were being dealt with by other institutions, not the police.
He regretted that in the police department hardly any senior officer had been taken to task for any wrongdoing as mostly low-ranking policemen faced departmental and penal actions. He suggested that this practice be ended and action and inquiries be initiated against grade 17 and above officers who were allegedly involved in corrupt practices.
The AIG-CTD said there were several cases against senior officers, which had been investigated by the ACE, NAB and FIA for “several years” and “some of the cases” against police officers were pending before courts.
He proposed that first the police should hold a departmental inquiry against such officers and if the police failed to perform their duty fairly, those cases should be referred to other institutions. He said a departmental inquiry against the officers concerned would also help other institutions in providing them required material to hold them accountable.
Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2016
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