MANY of us have had a rather bad experience when it comes to obtaining a police character certificate. The process has been deliberately made cumbersome as in any government department.

The role of local police stations is deplorable. There is no will for doing the work on time and the person who wants a character certificate is asked for money.

In foreign countries, this process is easy and people-friendly. The certificate is sent by post the next day when requested and that too for free. There is a need for centralising police records and getting rid of unnecessary paper work.

For instance, the need for brining two witnesses and to obtain their signatures for character should be abolished.

It is the police’s job to conduct verification themselves and they should not ask the person requesting for the certificate to bring witnesses themselves or their CNIC copies. The least the police can do is to treat people with respect.

Mustafa Saeedi

Luxembourg

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2017