In K-P, the jewel in PTI’s crown under threat

Govt, opposition MPAs want to clip police powers

PESHAWAR: PTI Chairman Imran Khan proudly flaunts police reforms as an achievement of his party’s government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa that no other province could have rivaled thus far. But now the architects of these reforms are apparently planning to undo this much-publicised achievement.

A select committee of the K-P Assembly — headed by Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak — is planning to clip the powers conferred on the provincial police chief under the Police Act, 2016, Daily Express has learnt from credible sources.

The committee met in the assembly building on Wednesday where the plan was discussed in the presence of Khattak.



As recently as Tuesday, the Police Act, 2016, was bitterly criticised by MPAs from both treasury and opposition at a separate meeting. They believe the law confers limitless powers on the inspector general of police which, according to them, is ‘illegal and unconstitutional’.

Fifteen MPAs, including Sahibzada Sanaullah, Muhammad Ali Shah, and Syed Fakhar Azeem of the PPP; Sardar Hussain Babak and Syed Jaffar Shah of the ANP; Abdul Sattar Khan and Aamna Sardar of the PML-N; and Amjad Afridi, Gul Sahib Khan and Muhammad Arif of the PTI attended the meeting.

“We all are unanimous that the powers bestowed on the IG are illegal and unconstitutional. The Police Act, 2016 is making the force an ‘independent authority’ which is not acceptable,” the lawmakers concurred during the meeting. “The police department should remain within the jurisdictions of the provincial administration.”

Members of the select committee from both the treasury as well as opposition have proposed 76 amendments in a bill, calling upon the government to abolish 10 sections of the Police Act, 2016 which, they believe, are ‘unconstitutional’. A copy of the bill is available with Daily Express.



Amendments proposed

The Police Act, 2016 empowers the IG to appoint, post, and transfer officers in the department, but the select committee members want these powers delegated back to the provincial administration.

Similarly, under the Police Act, 2016, if a district police officer (DPO) does something illegal or misuses his powers, he could be transferred by the district assembly through a two-thirds majority. The MPAs, however, want to amend the law to re-empower the provincial government to take action against an errant police officer.

Also, they want the early establishment of a proposed Provincial Safety Commission equipped with powers to even remove the IG or send services of IG or other officers to the Centre. They have proposed that all members of the Safety Commission be domiciled in K-P.

Through another amendment, the lawmakers want to give the power of imposing Section 144 of the CRPC to the deputy commissioner.  The members have proposed cut in powers of the police department and rejected the role of the liaison committee at the tehsil and district levels.



Through yet another amendment, the MPAs have sought disbandment of Dispute Resolution Committees, often criticised by detractors as a parallel judicial system, at the police station level. The MPAs intend to table another bill in the assembly seeking specification of the roles of the deputy commissioners and the district nazims in their respective districts.

Under the Police Act, the provincial government can act against a police officer if he/she violates rules or a code set by the police department, but a CSP police officer is out of its ambit.

The provincial government cannot take any disciplinary action against a CSP police officer even though the perks and privileges they enjoy are offered by the provincial government.

K-P Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser says the Police Act amendment bill is likely to be tabled in the house over the next few weeks. He says the PTI government is open to suggestions from all MPAs – be they from the treasury or the opposition.

“In the lawmaking process, we will welcome any suggestion from the opposition benches,” he told The Express Tribune. However, he clarified that the chief minister, being the chairperson of the select committee, will decide the fate of the proposed amendments in the Police Act, 2016.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2017.