SIndh CM Murad Ali Shah. PHOTO: APP
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah gave the nod on Thursday to several proposed reforms in the police service, including the establishment of model stations, upgrade of police personnel's pay scales to bring them on a par with the Punjab Police and the creation of a special police force. Besides, the CM also decided to allocate a special quota for members of the transgender community in government service.
The decisions were made in a meeting, attended by Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Sindh Police chief IG Dr Kaleem Imam, Home Secretary Kazi Kabir, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Training Additional IG Aftab Pathan, Karachi Additional IG Ghulam Nabi Memon, Finance Secretary Hassan Naqvi and senior officers of the Central Police Office.
The CM said that he had lifted the morale and confidence of police personnel by equipping them with the latest weapons, gadgets and other incentives, so that they perform their duties with dedication.
IGP Dr Imam briefed the meeting about various proposals aimed at bringing reforms in the police department. AIG Memon said that there were 108 police stations in the city, the majority of which were redundant in the sense that they had been established on nullahs and there was no need to continue them.
Model police stations
CM Shah suggested that two police stations located within the same periphery of the city should be merged and should be declared a model police station. He approved the establishment of the first model police station by amalgamating the Boat Basin and Clifton Police Stations. The police station would be headed by a senior Station House Officer with DDO powers. He would be given a revolving fund of Rs50,000 to meet the day-to-day expenditures. Moreover, an accountant will be appointed to keep a record of the expenditures and when the funds will deplete, another Rs50,000 will be provided to run the station.
Ghazi Cadre
During the meeting, IGP Imam apprised the CM there are about 2,000 policemen who have been either maimed or blinded in the line of duty.
The CM ordered the IGP to prepare a working paper for the cabinet in this regard and to group the maimed and blinded police personnel under a separate "Ghazi Cadre", which is to be formed on the same pattern as the Shaheed Cadre.
"The government will give them ample funds to live respectfully and will create employment for them in the police department, enabling them to meet their household expenditures and earn their bread and butter," the CM said. Policemen suffer physical harm in the line of duty and it is government's responsibility to look after such officials and their families, he added.
Upgrade of pay scales
Bringing to light another issue, IGP Imam told the participants of the meeting that in Sindh, constables, head constables, ASIs are ranked as BS-5, BS-7 and BS-9 officers, respectively. On the other hand, constables, head constables and ASIs in Punjab Police are ranked as BS-7, BS-9 and BS-11 officers, respectively, he said.
The CM approved IGP Imam's request to upgrade the rank of police officials In Sindh and bring them at par with the Punjab Police. He directed the IGP to prepare a summary on the issue and send it to him for formal approval.
Transgender quota
The CM also spoke about allocating a quota for transgender persons in all government departments.
Addressing the meeting, he said that the transgender community is one of the most neglected segments of society and stressed the there was a need to allocate a quota for recruiting of transgender persons in all government departments, including police.
He ordered the chief secretary to prepare a working paper for the cabinet so that the government can proceed with allocating a quota for the recruitment of transgender persons in government departments.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2019.
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