Keeping check: Amendments in rules seek better supervision of K-P police

IGP Nasir Khan Durrani says effective force impossible without punishment, reward.

PESHAWAR: In a bid to introduce effective means of supervision, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police has amended the Efficiency and Discipline Rules, 1975.

The earlier set of rules was said to be an impediment to effective supervision within the police force as it did not provide field commanders, i.e. DPOs and sub-divisional police officers, any real powers to punish their subordinates.

Keeping this in mind, K-P IGP Nasir Khan Durrani took the decision to amend the rules during a meeting of the police policy board.

Speaking to the meeting’s participants, IGP Durrani said it is impossible to command a disciplined force without having the ability to punish and reward personnel. He added the amendments will have a positive impact on the discipline of the K-P police which in turn will improve its efficacy.

Prior to the recently-introduced amendments, a DPO was unable to punish officers of the rank of inspector. Moreover, a sub-divisional police officer had no powers to punish officers of any rank. This had rendered the office of SDPO ineffective and DPOs were reluctant to post inspectors as SHOs.

Similarly, regional police officers had no authority to discipline SDPOs as powers to punish an officer of BPS-17 rested solely with the IGP.

The amendments include a number of checks, specifically incorporated to prevent the abuse of power by officers. Among these is the provision of second appeal to all aggrieved officials. In order to check exploitation of officials by the senior command and to discourage favouritism/nepotism while handing punishments, the amendments empower the appellate authority to take suo motu notice of any irregularity committed by the punishing authority and to revise the original orders.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2014.