LAHORE: The second police facilitation centre set up at Moon Market in Allama Iqbal Town has provided services in 13 categories to more than 1,000 citizens without any hassle during the last one month.

Currently, the facilitation centre is dealing with character certificates for visa and immigration purposes, verification certificates for job, character certificates for verification of domestic servants, verification of vehicles for sale and purchase purposes, copies and tracking of FIRs, reporting of stolen/untraced vehicles, reporting of vehicles’ accidents (for insurance), tenants registration, domestic violence, legal guidance, reporting of missing documents, missing child report, driving licenses including learning, renewal and duplicate.

The facilitation centre was inaugurated by Inspector General of Punjab Police (IGP) Mushtaq Sukhera early last month. Iqbal Town SP Muhammad Iqbal said that five counters were working in double shifts from 9am to 9pm. The centre was launched to address complaints regarding provision of speedy justice at the police station level, he said.

He said anyone visiting the centre could fill the required information in a form and get the needed documents at his/her home address within a week only by paying a fee of Rs100.

The SP said each counter was linked with the main server installed at the DIG (Operations) office and all cases handled by the facilitation centre staff were reported to the SP (Security) for regular monitoring.

An MBBS student, Mishal Awais, told Dawn on phone that she was afraid to visit the police station for getting her clearance certificate for visa.

She said her father accompanied her to the newly-established police facilitation centre in Iqbal Town where she submitted the form within one hour or so.

She said the in-charge of the facilitation center told her that the clearance certificate would reach their house within 10 to 15 days.

She said the very next day she received a call from police who wanted to check the details filled in the clearance certificate form and the same day two policemen reached their house to verify the details.

She said she received the certificate at her house through courier only after a week and, that too, without paying any additional amount.

Another visitor Sania Zia said she visited the facilitation centre to get her character certificate and the staff provided her every help in completing her form.

She said she was charged only Rs100 for submission of the form and she was directed that a policeman would visit her house in one or two days to verify her residence and details written in the form.

She said the next day two policemen approached her given address and after verification they told her that her character certificate would be sent through courier within 10 to 15 days.

She said she received the certificate within 10 days.

Another visitor Arif, who went to the centre for police verification said: “I am working as a gardener at a government school. The administration has directed me to get a police verification report.”

He said the centre staff got filled his form and then directed him to pay Rs100 for the submission of the form.

He said the staff told him that the verification report would be delivered to his residence through courier within a week.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2016