Police ready to tackle all challenges

Force to undergo special training to handle any eventuality

LAHORE: Despite challenges after a massive overhaul, Punjab Police are making special preparations for elections to ensure order and foolproof security arrangements during mass gatherings.

For capacity building to perform duties on Election Day, the police arranged a week-long training programme for members of the force. The initiative kicked off in all districts of the province last Sunday in coordination with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The training was aimed to build the capacity of police officials to counter any emergency situation or untoward incident on polling day. The participants will be provided training to protect ballot boxes, returning officers and prominent personalities. They will also be trained to provide first aid, fight fires, handle emergencies and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies.

Punjab Police has decided to rely sufficiently on the Special Branch till elections. The Inspector General of Police Punjab (IGP) Dr Syed Kaleem Imam held a meeting with Additional IG Special Branch Farooq Mazhar at the IG Office.

During the meeting, he had ordered the additional IG to direct the officers of the Special Branch, in all the districts of the province, to increase their coordination with field teams. He stated that law and order were facing new challenges during this election so all officers should perform their duties with enthusiasm, passion and dedication.



The IG Punjab asserted before Farooq Mazhar that the prime duty of the Special Branch was to keep field officers informed about the presence of antisocial elements.

The Punjab Police, as part of election duties, also launched a crackdown against violations of the election code of conduct.  In ten days, the police registered 136 cases against 946 workers of different political parties. Punjab Police registered cases against 429 workers of PTI, 134 of PML-N, 22 of PPP, while 361 offenders are from other political parties and some are independents.

Likewise, 86 cases and 44 qalandras have been registered under the Goonda Act and 65 people have been arrested, whereas 176 cases and 176 qalandras have been registered and 165 accused have been arrested under the Habitual Offender Act.

Other arrangements included an increase in picketing and patrolling of the Dolphin Force, PERU and others. For the security of women at polling stations, women cops have been made part of the special election force.

Lahore Police is also making special arrangements to ensure conduct of safe, free and fair elections, said DIG Operation Shahzad Akbar.

A senior police officer told The Express Tribune that Lahore Police was facing serious issues after a complete overhaul of its chain of command, all the way from moharars of police stations to the CCPO. He said the police station, being a basic unit of the department, was akin to the force’s backbone.

He added the station house officer and moharrar were important to the chain of command and implementation of policy on the ground level.  He said the moharrar maintained all records of police station management, crime and area. Therefore, every new SHO relied on him to settle down after taking charge.

The SHOs were being appointed from other districts in Lahore and moharars from different circles. This created a great void in the force and affected the ability to fight crime, while also raising apprehensions over law and order.

DIG Shahzad Akbar, on the other hand, said that new chain of command in the Lahore Police had managed the gap to a large extent. “They have worked hard for the last few days.”

He said police station premises in Lahore were limited and it took only one day to pay a visit throughout the area. The DIG added that the newly-appointed SHOs had been visiting polling stations and had developed an understanding of the area.

Akbar said SHOs were appointed on merit. A 12-member panel was formed that interviewed before posting the SHOs. He said that appointing SHOs was at the discretion of DIG Operations, but the police formed a panel  to make the process even more transparent.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2018.