FAISALABAD, July 1: The Punjab government has disbanded the Citizen Police Liaison Committee and the Industrial Police Liaison Committee as their members have defied inclusion of politically nominated people, including the brother-in-law of a provincial minister, in these bodies. A notification to the effect was issued on June 29 by the home secretary.

Both the entities consist of well-off people who have been financing different police projects throughout the district.

A four-member committee, comprising the DCO, CPO, district attorney and the district public prosecutor, has been constituted by the government. Although affairs of both the panels are being run with the funds being provided by its members and philanthropists, the Punjab government has asked the committee to look after the assets, funds, and other matters of the bodies.

Only land has been provided to both organisations for their offices. The CPLC has been provided with land adjacent to the RPO office and the IPLC at the Police Lines.

An office-bearer of the CPLC requesting anonymity told Dawn that some parliamentarians of the Pakistan Muslim League-N had nominated some people for their induction as the CPLC members; however, their request was turned down. He said after refusal of accommodating such people, the CPLC had been facing numerous problems and now it was de-notified by the home department.

He said CPLC would not be in a position to serve masses after the induction of `political people’ because they would look after the interests of their “voters and supporters”.

Names of politically nominated people were also endorsed by the home department, however, they could not find a place at CPLC with the efforts of some police officers, he added.

The Punjab government would frame new rules for constitution of a regular CPLC, the notification said.

The CPLC was instituted on Dec 16, 2001 and the IPLC on May 12, 2011. Both the entities had framed their bylaws having no room for the political people.

This is for the second time that IPLC has been de-notified by the Punjab government.

Earlier, on Feb 15 last, the deputy inspector general (headquarters) Lahore had issued an order titled “Corruption in the Industrial Liaison Committee Faisalabad.”

The memo read: “It has been noticed with great concern that a number of complaints of corruption and mismanagement are pouring in police headquarters against the working of recently created IPLC at Faisalabad with its offices located in district police lines. The complaints range from outright corruption to favourtism in awarding membership of IPLC and nominations of FIRs. The inspector general of police has taken a serious notice of this situation and directed that in the presence of the CPLC already functioning in Faisalabad there is no need of having a parallel body in the shape of IPLC.”

However, the IGP had withdrawn the notification when some of the police officers apprised him about the working and funding of the IPLC to reduce crime in industrial areas.

IPLC (now disbanded) chief Umer Nazar Shah said industrialists had been spending a hefty amount in the district from their own pocket on controlling crime in industrial areas without receiving even a penny from the government. He said the committee had been functioning in other districts as well but some elements were allegedly hatching conspiracies against the panel in Faisalabad.