Police are independent but it doesn’t give them licence to kill: CM

Murad warns Centre's interference in police setup will not be tolerated

KARACHI: The tug of war between the Centre and the Sindh government over the administrative control of the police department seems to be gaining momentum as both sides attempt to undermine the other's attempts to exercise their authority.

On Wednesday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah insisted that the police were under the administrative control of the provincial government, but some changes made in the law had upset the administrative control.

He expressed these views while speaking to the media at two different places - first outside the Liaquat National Hospital (LNH) where he went to inquire about the health of the infant, Nishwa, who is currently admitted to the ICU after being administered the wrong dose of medication at the Darul Sehat Hospital. The CM's second visit was in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, where he had gone to offer condolences with Kashif Shaikh, the father of 19-month-old, Hassan, who was killed in crossfire between police and robbers a day earlier.



Changes to the law

In response to a question, the chief minister said that the police were under the administrative control of the Sindh government, but some `insertions and deletions' in the law had disturbed the entire administrative system of the provincial government with regard to the police.

According to Shah, whenever the provincial government suggested some administrative changes in the police for better policing, some vested interests started a hue and cry and termed it 'political interference'.

"Yes, it is political interference because we have been elected to power politically," he said, adding that political governments take political decisions in the interest of their people. "What is wrong with that?" he questioned.

He stressed that the police were autonomous but it would have to take decisions in consultation with the provincial government.

In response to another question, the CM said the police was indeed an autonomous institution, but "this independence doesn't mean that they have the license to kill innocent people."

He added that the basic job of the police was to protect the life, property and liberty of people, but what was currently happening was very disappointing. He was referring to the recent incidents of police encounters in which several citizens have lost their lives.

Recent incidents

Shah recalled that the law and order situation in Karachi has been improved by the police, Rangers and Army because there was political guidance and will of the political government. "Now, the same police have made some seven mishaps in which five innocent lives have been lost," he said. "This is because in the recent decisions, political guidance and consultation have been set aside," he reasoned.

The chief minister said that an unarmed couple was buying groceries from a store when the police personnel on patrol in the area opened fire on alleged bandits, without caring for innocent bystanders. "This is the professionalism and responsibility demonstrated by the police personnel," he deplored.

Shah told the media that the family would be provided justice and he had told the family to register their FIR according to their wishes. "I am really sorry and I don't have words to express my sentiments regarding your loss," he told the aggrieved father and the family. "This is criminal negligence on the part of the policemen," he said.

Visit to LNH

Earlier, the chief minister visited the LNH, where he met Qaiser Ali, the father of the infant who is fighting for her life after being administered the wrong dose of medication.

Shah told the doctors and the child's father that his government would bear all the medical expenditures of the girl's treatment, whether she was treated in Pakistan or abroad. "I just want the girl's life to be saved," he said.

Shah told the media that Qaiser Ali had raised grievances against quackery and unprofessional doctors, who were playing with the lives of innocent people. "We have enacted the law of the Health Care Commission and will further improve it by removing the short comings so that appropriate action may be taken against such private health facilities that are playing with the lives of patients," he said.

Section 149

Speaking about Article 149 of the Constitution, through which the provincial government was being threatened by the Centre, Shah said that there was no mention of the 'federal government's interference' in the Article they were quoting.

He advised the Prime Minister to snub such ministers who were misguiding him. He added that the article in question only dealt with guidelines to be issued by the federal government in the matter of law and order and governance.



"The province of Sindh is being governed better than any other province and the law and order situation is at its best in Sindh," he said. "The federal government should focus on its own performance, which is facing the worst revenue recoveries in the history of the country.

Cabinet to take up issue

Meanwhile, the CM's adviser on Information, Law and Anti-corruption, Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that every institution, including the police, must be accountable for their performance. Talking to the media persons at the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday, Wahab said that the police must improve its performance.

Taking exception to the conduct and performance of the police department, Wahab announced that the next meeting of the provincial Cabinet would take up the issue of legislation relating to the police department.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2019.