PM Imran Khan. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has granted one week’s time to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to complete the consultation process, including addressing the concerns of the senior police officers, for introducing police reforms.
According to sources, the prime minister was informed in a briefing that the police reforms act would be approved from the provincial assembly and if need be, the reforms would be implemented through an ordinance.
The prime minister met the Punjab chief minister in the PM Chamber at the Parliament House on Monday. The meeting, which lasted for over an hour, was attended by Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat, Federal Interior Secretary Azam Suleman Khan, Punjab IG Capt (retd) Arif Nawaz, provincial interior secretary and principal secretary to the chief minister.
‘Police concerns will be addressed before reforms’
Sources said Azam gave a briefing to the prime minister about the draft of the Punjab police reforms act.
Imran informed the meeting about the reservations of the provincial bureaucracy and senior police officers over police reforms.
Sources said that the Punjab chief minister had requested for more time to complete the consultation process, adding that Prime Minister Imran gave one week’s time to complete the consultation process and implement police reforms in the province.
PM Imran also expressed serious concern over lack of preparedness in stopping dengue from spreading in Punjab.
In a meeting last Friday, Law Minister Basharat and other ministers listened to the objections of the police department on the orders of the prime minister. They came to the conclusion that most of the objections were unfounded.
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They informed the police officers that the government was ready to remove any genuine objections to ensure enforcement of the long-awaited reforms.
On Thursday, senior police officers held a meeting at the Central Police Office in which they threatened to resign.
They expressed reservations over allowing the bureaucracy to take over the police department, saying that it was an attempt of the Pakistan Administrative Services to bring the police under its control.
PM Imran has already given a go-ahead to the home departments of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad to take control of the police.
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