‘SRU stands unrivalled on women, taxation reforms’

Unite initiated Women-on-Wheels campaign to empower women

LAHORE: Special Reforms Unit (SRU) Senior adviser Salman Sufi has claimed that the reforms introduced by SRU regarding protection of women and excise and taxation were unprecedented in the history of Pakistan.

Sufi expressed these views while talking The Express Tribune on Thursday. He said these reforms were also being replicated by other provinces. “A few weeks back, Excise and Taxation Department of Khyber-Pakhtunkhawah has asked us for help in replicating Dealer Vehicle Registration System (DVRS) system, he said. “K-P, Sindh and Balochistan governments have also sought help in replicating PC-1 for Violence Against Women Centres (VAWC).”

He said the department basically worked as a think-tank. However, its job was not only to devise concept papers or envisage plans of a project but to also to work for the implementation and execution of the plan. He also claimed that the total expenditure of SRU in four years was Rs47 million.



SRU was initially started as Special Monitoring Unit (Law and Order) in August 2014. Later, it was named as SRU.

Sufi highlighted that the reforms introduced by SRU were related to women protection, social, police, motor vehicle and transport, driving education centres and traffic reforms. In reforms related to women protection, they introduced Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act 2016 to criminalises all forms of violence against women in Punjab and provide the victims civil remedies.



As part of the project, they introduced VAWCs, for the first time in South Asia. These centres provided all essential services to ensure justice delivery to victims of violence at women point. The first VAWC has been operational in Multan since March 2017. Women Protection Authority, an independent legislative body dedicated to manage and administer the operations of VAWCs across Punjab, was also passed due to their efforts.

Besides, they also initiated Women-on-Wheels campaign to empower women by providing them with the necessary skill-set and the means to increase their mobility and independence by providing motorcycles at a subsidised rate and free training.

“Chapters on violence against women were included in the textbooks of grade 9-12 in Punjab. Street theatre campaigns in collaboration with UN Women to raise awareness regarding the everyday challenges faced by women was also introduced,” Sufi said.

He said an Android app on women safety was also launched to enable women to report harassment at public space.

Under the head of social reforms, Shehr-e-Khamoshan, model graveyards in Lahore, Multan, Sargodha and Faisalabad having the facilities of services, hearse service, coach service, toll-free helpline, mortuary, bathing facilities, janazgah and an interface between the cemetery registry and NADRA, were also being established.

A legislation was passed on May 24, 2017, for the establishment of Shehr-e-Khamoshan Authority to oversee the operations of model graveyards in Punjab. The first model graveyard has been established at Kahna.

Other steps under social reforms included mobile and on-ground (container) libraries, protection of senior citizens, rights of transgender and restaurant grading system etc, Sufi added.

Sufi claimed that they have introduced ground-breaking reforms in a motor vehicle and transport sector. This included dealer vehicle registration system (DVRS), an initiative for the provision of point of sale registration system to all 36 districts of Punjab, centralisation and modernisation of excise and taxation and ANPR-readable standardised license plates among others.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2018.