THATTA: Sindh IGP A.D. Khwaja said on Friday the government had decided to set up ‘reception centers’ at police stations in the province in a bid to change thana culture and facilitate complainants in a friendly atmosphere.

He said at an inauguration ceremony of a 30-bed hospital and later at a distribution ceremony for commendation certificates among police officials in Makli that he was striving to change thana culture and ‘reception centers’ were a step in that direction. These centres would initially be set up in cities where police officers would receive complainants under the watchful lenses of CCTV cameras, he said.

He said that there was a need to establish a permanent liaison among police, civil society, media and general public.

“Gone are the days when police were compelled to follow influential people. You have to honour this uniform and the accolades you have earned for your performance by the grace of Almighty Allah. You are only accountable to him and to people,” he said addressing the police officers who received commendation certificates.

He said that when he took over command of provincial police he realised that it was an uphill task. He had to patiently tackle challenges one by one to live up to people’s expectations, he said.

The IGP said the country was passing through its most crucial phase when it was being targeted by terrorists and extremists right from Fata to Karachi but the criminals were now on the run.

Sindh had more than 1,000 madressahs which had never posed a threat to population but many of the newly established seminaries were now becoming a threat to peace. He said the new madressahs should not be allowed to operate without registration and urged media and civil society to join hands to keep vigilance on such madressahs.

DIG Khadim Rind, SSP Fida Hussain Mastoi, Dr Mumtaz Uqaili and Mehboob Brohi also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2016