Police Act 2016: Cabinet committee considers three proposals on its plate

Key meeting held at CPO to discuss proposed legislation

PESHAWAR: The cabinet committee tasked with revising the draft for the proposed Police Act 2016 has three proposals in front of it to consider.  Meanwhile, a marathon seven-hour meeting was held at Central Police Office to discuss the legislation.

The proposals

The first draft was originally prepared by a cabinet committee, led by Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan, the second by former IGP Fayyaz Toru and retired police officers, while the third was a heavily amended version by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affairs department.

“The cabinet committee has been tasked with completing the draft in April and we asked the police to give its comments on the version prepared by the home department,” said committee member and MPA Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli. “The police said they would reply by April 16,” she told The Express Tribune.

Tahirkheli said the draft amended by the home department had been circulated to the police department for comments and sent to the CM for approval. The CM formed a committee to revise it. “The convener of the committee is Inayatullah, while Shah Farman and I are members,” she added.

Recruitments

Some of the proposed amendments suggested reducing the posting and transfer powers of the IGP when it comes to officers above the DSP level. According to a copy of the bill available with The Express Tribune, it also authorised the recruitment of DSP through the K-P Public Service Commission (PSC).

Section 71 of the proposed law authorised the establishment and composition of an apex commission with the chief minister as chair.

Under section 16 of the law, the IGP shall transfer and post officers up to Additional Inspector General (AIG) throughout the province and issue the notification. “[It is] provided the transfer or posting of regional police officer or district police officers will be subject to raftication by the PSC as prescribed in the rules,” the draft stated

About recruitment of DSPs, section 27 allows their direct appointment through the K-P PSC. The move would make the recruitment of provincial police officers through the PSC legal in one go.

Currently ASPs are recruited on the federal level through the CSS exam on the national level and fall under the Police Services of Pakistan (PSP) structure.

“The government formed a committee headed by Inayatullah who prepared the draft after months of consultations with all stakeholders and submitted it to the government. It was then sent to the home department for final touches where its nature was altered,” said a police official.

Marathon meet

The high-level conference was held at the CPO to discuss the proposed act saw senior retired and serving police officers from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad and Lahore. The meeting started at 10am and lasted seven hours.

Detailed deliberations concluded that the basic structure and framework of the Police Order 2002 must be adhered to. The principles of operation and administrative autonomy, neutrality, public service and accountability, as enshrined in PO 2002, must be followed in letter and spirit.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2016.