Addressing the inauguration ceremony of model police station at Mianwali in Punjab, Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed firm resolve to change the brute “Thana Culture” in the province by excluding the role of politicians in the posting and transfer of police officers at different levels. On a number of occasions, the Prime Minister has eulogized the legislations that freed the police in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa from the control of political elite. When PTI formed government in Punjab former Inspector General of Police in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Nasir Durrani was made the advisor of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to work out recommendations for police reforms in the province. But that honest and upright retired civil servant of PSP cadre has to resign because of the machinations of oppressive political class. Last year Police Department was tasked to draft recommendations for reforming Punjab police but the matter became a bone of contention between them and civil bureaucracy in the province.
The first and concert decision of reforming the police across the country had been taken by none else but by General Musharraf, the unelected Chief Executive of the country, with the promulgation of Police Order of August, 2002 to replace the British colonial era Police Act of 1861. In Khyber Pukhtunkhwa prosecution branch was separated from the Police Department and placed under the control of Home Department. It was in his tenure of government that civil society was given a monitoring role in the implementation of introduced police reforms for which Citizen-Police Committees had been formed.
The PML-Q government in Punjab reverted back to Police Act 1861 in 2003 in Punjab which is still enforced there. The governments in Sindh and Baluchistan did the same in 2008. However, ANP government in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa did not revive the authoritarian Police Act of colonial era. Credit must be given to the previous PTI government in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa for passing Police Act 2017 to further refine and enrich the Police Order No,22 of 2002 and make it more peoples’ friendly. Although the legislation was passed without the media limelight yet favourable comments did appear on this law in print media. But this time around the civil society has not been taken on board like the earlier Citizen-Police liaison committees to monitor the implementation of amended and refined law. However, it is an admitted fact that police attitude in this province had remained relatively better even under the 1861 Act.
A symbolic measure of setting up model police stations is no substitute of a comprehensive legislation on police reforms across the country. The Supreme Court has already given directions in its verdict of January 21, 2019. A three-judge bench headed by former Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqiib Nisar had given a verdict declaring Police as concurrent subject on which both federal and provincial governments could legislate. Again in October 2019 the recently retired Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khosa sent a letter, through Secretary Law and Justice Commission, to federal secretaries of law and interior for the implementation of Apex court order of January 21, 2019. The court order sets broad parameters of police reforms about the criteria of appointment on cadre posts, operational independence of police, protection of tenure on a post, performance assessment and accountability of incompetence, negligence and dishonesty. If the government of Punjab is reluctant to do this inevitable legislation then the federal government can exercise its prerogative of making legislation on police reforms as federal law has precedence over provincial law under Article 143 of the Constitution of Pakistan. If there is a will there is way. Perhaps there is lack of political well despite the realization about the long overdue police reforms.
