NA panel begins work on federal laws for police
Policemen patrol during a procession in Karachi. PHOTO: AFP
A parliamentary panel has started reviewing the Supreme Court’s proposals on police reforms in order to bring federal legislation in this regard. Interestingly, police is generally regarded as a provincial subject after the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice, chaired by MNA Riaz Fatyana, on September 24 held a meeting in which Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) Secretary Dr Raheem Awan gave a briefing on police reforms.
These reforms were proposed by the Police Reforms Committee (PRC) that was formed by the Supreme Court two years ago. The PRC had called for federal laws for securing integrity, competence, diligence and accountability in the police department.
According to the minutes of the meeting, the NA committee appreciated the presentation given by the LJCP secretary and unanimously constituted a subcommittee under MNA Ahsanullah Tiwana to revisit the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1898 and submit its report within 30 days.
The four-member NA subcommittee will hold its first meeting today (Monday). Other members of the committee are Nafisa Shah, Mohsin Ranjha and Shunila Ruth.
According to sources, the LJCP secretary told the committee about the apex court’s January 21, 2019 judgment which had declared that "police is a concurrent subject" on which both the federal and provincial government could legislate.
A senior official in the LJCP revealed that during the last meeting, none of the standing committee members expressed concern over the federal legislation on police. The PPP has, however, already challenged the SC judgment which allows federal legislation on police.
In October last year, the LJCP former chairman – chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa – through the LJCP Secretary Raheem Awan, had written a letter to the federal law and interior secretaries for implementation of the court's January 21 verdict and the PRC report.
The letter had stated that the operational and administrative autonomy of police is vital for the independence of judiciary and that any steps by the functionaries concerned should strictly adhere to the verdict of the Supreme Court dated January 21, 2019.
PRC proposals
The PRC, constituted by the apex court two years ago, was headed by former IGP Afzal Ali Shigri. It also included former Punjab IGP Syed Masood Shah; former Sindh IGPs Asad Jahangir Khan and Shoaib Suddle; former Federal Investigation Agency director general Tariq Khosa and all incumbent IGPs.
The committee spent seven months to prepare a report on three broad areas of its terms of reference (ToRs), including model police law, accountability and operational matters and legislative reforms.
The PRC summary said after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the propensity of the provincial governments to control police led to multiplicity of provincial police laws without appreciating the jurisprudence expounded by the Supreme Court and without taking into account the importance of fair and effective enforcement of fundamental rights of the people as guaranteed in the Constitution.
At the moment, the four provinces have introduced separate police laws in disregard of Articles 142 and 143 of the Constitution, it stated.
The PRC, after examining the Police Order 2002, ensured it provided the requisite uniformity and standardization of its institutional structures. It said there were some areas that needed compatibility with the latest constitutional and legal developments.
For external accountability mechanisms, the PRC recommended establishment of the police complaints authorities as provided in the Police Order, 2002 (Articles 103-108). These authorities would deal with complaints of neglect, excess or misconduct against police officers.
Taking into consideration the principles contained in the Alternate Dispute Resolution Act, 2017, the PRC was of the view that the police could play an effective role in the settlement of disputes in petty criminal cases, and therefore, the act might either be extended to the whole country or the provinces might legislate their own laws along the same lines.
The third thematic area was concerned with policing-related amendments in laws like the CrPC, Qanoon-e-Shahadat and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) etc and the PRC recommended appropriate changes in these laws.
The PRC also pointed out that a link between lawmaking and available budget or resources was missing.
Excessive legislation was introduced without allocating resources for implementation. Resultantly, there were more new laws with no resources. This eroded the trust of citizens in the government's ability to deliver on the rights and the constitutional dispensation, it said.
The committee said work on improving services was a continuing effort that needed persistent institutional ownership as well as trust by the courts and the public.
“The PRC shall be looking forward to assisting the Supreme Court of Pakistan in its effort to implement the fundamental rights of the citizens of Pakistan,” it noted.