LAHORE, May 4: Some basic changes are expected to be made in the proposed Police Ordinance, 2002, to address the objections raised by citizens and the provinces, mainly the Punjab.

Well placed sources said on Saturday the ordinance was likely to be placed before the federal cabinet for approval in June. If approved, it would be promulgated by the president.

The ordinance was scheduled earlier to be approved on March 20 but the decision was postponed because of the provinces’ objections. The draft was again sent to the provinces for further comments. In Punjab, a committee led by Local Government Department secretary Humayun Farshori was asked to review it.

Sources said, the committee had met several times but had yet to submit its recommendations in writing.

They said changes were likely to be made in the ordinance in the light of objections from various quarters.

The Punjab government had raised two major objections. The officials who perused the draft on behalf of the provincial government were of the view that if enforced in its present form, the law would create many problems.

The first objection was that the draft contained substantive laws like the Pakistan Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, and rules of business. The second was that since the 1973 Constitution made police a provincial subject, the new law could not be promulgated by the federal government.

Another objections were that the law would erode state control over police and required billions of rupees for its implementation.