PESHAWAR, Dec 20: A meeting of the NWFP assembly’s standing committee on law and order on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction over lawlessness in the city and directed police officials to take immediate steps in this regard.

The meeting was presided over by chairman of the committee, MPA Bashir Ahmad Bilour, and attended by MPA Nighat Orakzai, Provincial Home Secretary Badshah Gul Wazir, IG Mohammad Raffat Pasha and capital police chief Habibur Rehman.

Responding to queries and remarks, the IG said that lack of manpower affected police performance and sought recruitment for the force. Terming the law and order situation in the city satisfactory, he said that the NWFP police was a 37,000 strong force with only 3,700 men available for the provincial capital which, he said, were not enough.

He said that Peshawar was larger and more populated city than Islamabad but it had a better law and order record though the federal capital had three times as much force and 4,000 recruitments were made to guard diplomatic enclaves there.

He demanded return the Frontier Constabulary from Islamabad deployed there for the purpose.

Responding to a remark by Ms Orakzai, the IG said that courts were not bound to go by police investigations. “Shortcomings in the criminal justice system (CJS) allow culprits to escape punishment.”

Criticising the CJS, SSP Saeed Wazir said that only four dacoity accused were awarded punishment till date. He added that three of the cases involved high profile people whereas in the fourth case the accused did not have money to challenge the session court’s decision in the high court.