Strengthening rule of law: Police reform stressed

Parliamentarians from both the houses stressed the need for reform in the police department across the country. At the second meeting of the first ever multi-party Parliamentary Caucus on Rule of Law (PCRoL), convened by Senator Hasil Khan Bizenjo, parliamentarians from both the Senate and the National Assembly gathered here on Tuesday to debate upon measures to uphold rule of law in the country. Dr Shoaib Suddle, former IGP Sindh and Balochistan, and Muhammad Ali Nekokara, former senior superintendent of police, while highlighting challenges to effective policing in the country, put forward recommendations for reform. The present ratio of police officers to citizens is unsatisfactory; while the UN standard is of one officer for every 450 citizens, it is disappointing to note that in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi there is one police officer for every 337, 625 and 880 citizens respectively.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2015.