LHC wants to see Punjab police depoliticised
The petitioner prayed the court to direct authorities implement PO 2002
Document attributed to Mandi Bahauddin cops asks locals to be wary of Pukhtuns and Afghans. PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE:
Unlike the Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa police, fingers are often pointed at the Punjab police for being politicised and inefficient. The solutions are all available in the Police Order 2002, which have never been fully implemented. In his petition before the Lahore High Court, Advocate Saad Rasool asked the court to direct the authorities to implement the PO 2002 in its full letter and spirit.
Realising the importance of the issue, LHC Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has sought replies from the federal and provincial governments by March 30 on steps taken to depoliticise the police force and implementation of Police Order 2002.
The court also appointed senior lawyer Asma Jahangir as amicus curiae to assist the court on the matter.
The CJ remarked that if the Punjab police were fully empowered according to the PO, more than 30% burden of litigation would have been reduced in courts.
The CJ further remarked that appointments of the police chief and CCPOs should be done through Provincial Public Safety Commission, but unfortunately PPSC was never constituted and common citizens have been kept away from the process of appointments of IGs and CCPOs.
Arguing the petition, Advocate Saad submitted that under the PO 2002, constitution of District Public Safety, District Police Complaints Commission, Provincial Public Safety Commission, Provincial Police Complaints Authority, National Public Safety Commission, Police Complaints Authority and Citizen Police Liaison Committee were mandatory which so far could not exist.
He said according to the PO 2002, appointment and posting of the provincial police officers (PPOs) and capital city police officers (CCPOs) cannot be made without the involvement of national and provincial public safety commissions respectively.
Similarly, the appointments and postings of city police officers (CPOs) and district police officers (DPOs) are linked to the District Public Safety Commission, he said.
Once appointed, the PPO, CCPOs and DPOs would enjoy a three-year term and could only be removed by the provincial government with agreement of the Public Safety Commission concerned. In the absence of the relevant statutory bodies, the provisions pertaining to security of tenure of police officers are being completely ignored and violated, he said.
He said the average period of posting of a PPO from January 2011 to December 2013 was 7.5 months. CCPOs/additional IGPs of the four provincial capitals, the average tenure of a police chief of capital city was seven months.
In Lahore, eight officers were posted as CCPO, Lahore, in three years, giving each an average of 4.5 months, he said.
Saad further pointed out that formal/functional appointments of heads of District Investigation Branch (DIB) have not been made across 36 districts in Punjab, which was mandatory according to the PO 2002. He prayed the court to declare the respondent federal and provincial government to ensure implementation of the Police Order 2002 in letter and spirit to ensure depoliticisation, democratic accountability and autonomy of the police of the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2017
Unlike the Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa police, fingers are often pointed at the Punjab police for being politicised and inefficient. The solutions are all available in the Police Order 2002, which have never been fully implemented. In his petition before the Lahore High Court, Advocate Saad Rasool asked the court to direct the authorities to implement the PO 2002 in its full letter and spirit.
Realising the importance of the issue, LHC Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has sought replies from the federal and provincial governments by March 30 on steps taken to depoliticise the police force and implementation of Police Order 2002.
The court also appointed senior lawyer Asma Jahangir as amicus curiae to assist the court on the matter.
The CJ remarked that if the Punjab police were fully empowered according to the PO, more than 30% burden of litigation would have been reduced in courts.
The CJ further remarked that appointments of the police chief and CCPOs should be done through Provincial Public Safety Commission, but unfortunately PPSC was never constituted and common citizens have been kept away from the process of appointments of IGs and CCPOs.
Arguing the petition, Advocate Saad submitted that under the PO 2002, constitution of District Public Safety, District Police Complaints Commission, Provincial Public Safety Commission, Provincial Police Complaints Authority, National Public Safety Commission, Police Complaints Authority and Citizen Police Liaison Committee were mandatory which so far could not exist.
He said according to the PO 2002, appointment and posting of the provincial police officers (PPOs) and capital city police officers (CCPOs) cannot be made without the involvement of national and provincial public safety commissions respectively.
Similarly, the appointments and postings of city police officers (CPOs) and district police officers (DPOs) are linked to the District Public Safety Commission, he said.
Once appointed, the PPO, CCPOs and DPOs would enjoy a three-year term and could only be removed by the provincial government with agreement of the Public Safety Commission concerned. In the absence of the relevant statutory bodies, the provisions pertaining to security of tenure of police officers are being completely ignored and violated, he said.
He said the average period of posting of a PPO from January 2011 to December 2013 was 7.5 months. CCPOs/additional IGPs of the four provincial capitals, the average tenure of a police chief of capital city was seven months.
In Lahore, eight officers were posted as CCPO, Lahore, in three years, giving each an average of 4.5 months, he said.
Saad further pointed out that formal/functional appointments of heads of District Investigation Branch (DIB) have not been made across 36 districts in Punjab, which was mandatory according to the PO 2002. He prayed the court to declare the respondent federal and provincial government to ensure implementation of the Police Order 2002 in letter and spirit to ensure depoliticisation, democratic accountability and autonomy of the police of the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2017