Collaboration: ‘Police facing enormous challenges’

Pakistani police face enormous challenges while fulfilling their duties, says Norwegian Ambassador Cecilie Landsverk.

Pakistani police face enormous challenges while fulfilling their duties, Norwegian Ambassador Cecilie Landsverk said at a ceremony here on Monday.

She was speaking at a ceremony to hand over “attitudinal change module (ACM)” certificates prepared by a non-government organisation for the police at the National Police Academy (NPA).

The event marked the completion of a collaborative effort by Rozan and the police to review and implement the module involving behaviour and the attitude of the police while dealing with survivors of mishaps.

The Norwegian envoy said that collaboration between the Norwegian embassy and Rozan has been a motivator in implementing the project.

Ambassador Landsverk said Norway intends to support Pakistan through different programmes in the future.

NPA Acting Commandant Kamal Sadiq gave an overview of the contents and topics of the ACM. He said that “change is always resisted”, but it has to occur.

DIG Ehsan Sadiq said the behaviour of the police towards the public was changing and they were becoming more pro-people.

Rozan Managing Director Babar Bashir said that the initial challenges they faced were immense as the police had been a “closed department”.

NPA Director Shehzad Siddiquie hoped that the partnership between the police and Rozan would continue.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2013.