KARACHI, Feb 13: City Nazim Naimatullah Khan has said that Police Order-2002 has weakened Nazims' position as it allows a Town Police Officer (TPO) 45 days to answer a query while Nazims would have to wait for his response.

He was addressing a meeting of the Shura Hamdard, Karachi chapter, held under the chairmanship of former Sindh ombudsman Justice (r) Haziqul Khairi at a local hotel. The theme was Role of Police - Need of Reforms.

The City Nazim said that bureaucracy and police were two government institutions which had great influence on the country's affairs. He was of the view that the present government had curtailed bureaucracy's influence and would certainly would have made attempts to do the same with police. However, he noted, the government obviously had failed as the Police Order-2002 was a manifestation of it. He pointed out that the Order held Nazims responsible for law and order in their respective areas. But how could a Nazim fulfil the responsibility in absence of powers to control police? he questioned.

He stressed on adequate powers for Nazims through which they could remove causes of law and order situation. In spite of a lapse of two years, public safety commissions have not yet been set up to create some sort of check and balance.

He was of the view that necessary amendments should be made to the Police Order with the consent of police authorities. Speaking as guest speaker, IGP Sindh Syed Kamal Shah said the Police Order was meant to control police and improve their performance.

Police bear responsibility to protect life, property and honour of citizens and when we talk about such an important department, we must take into account the procedure of selecting police personnel, he maintained.

The IGP said that 9,000 people had been recruited in police on merit during the last two years and a psychiatrist was made available during the interviews to judge emotional quality of the candidates.

Mr Shah pointed out that entire system of police recruitment and their syllabus of training had been changed by introducing the chapter of human rights.

He recalled that 879 FIRs had been registered against policemen in 2001 and 2002 whereas major and minor punishments were also given to ensure improvement in the performance of the entire police force. Inquiry panels were set up and internal accountability system introduced, he added.

As many as 146 terrorists are now in jail and 39 have already been convicted due to police efforts, he said. Highlighting sacrifices offered by policemen, he said that during 2003, 46 policemen laid down their lives and 137 sustained serious injuries in Sindh. He said 59 policemen laid down their lives in Karachi during operations against terrorists and robbers.

Syed Kamal Shah regretted that police had only 20 per cent residential facilities. A policeman has to perform 12-hour duty for a salary less than what is paid to a cook, he said, and added that six centres of '15 Madadgaar' were set up and '915' service for traffic guidance introduced. FIR forms were made available at different places to maintain a check on police stations. - PPI