ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Saqib Nisar on Monday said that police reforms were important for improving the performance of criminal justice system.
Presiding a meeting at the Supreme Court to review a report titled “Police Reforms: The way Forward”, prepared by a Police Law Reform Committee, the top judge said that judiciary was meant to do justice; however, the cause of justice was being defeated due to poor investigations.
He lamented that defective investigation led to uncertainty and mistrust in the formal justice system and further stated that lack of responsiveness and equity had shaken the confidence of people in the police.
The meeting was attended by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, retired and serving IGPs, apex court registrar as well as Law and Justice Commission Secretary Dr Muhammad Raheem Awan.
Police Reforms Committee Convener Afzal Ali Shigri appraised the participants about the systematic approach adopted by the committee for preparation and compilation of the report.
Dr Shoaib Suddle, Tariq Khosa, Shoukat Javed, Asad Jehangir, Tariq Pervez and all former IGs, at the occasion, gave presentations on drafting of model police law, police accountability, urban policing, improvements in investigation and combating terrorism by criminal justice system.
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, emphasised the need of an internal and external oversight mechanism to improve the quality of investigation and to address the grievances against the police.
He also highlighted that non-availability of an effective complaint resolution mechanism put extra burden on judiciary, causing wastage of resources and time of judiciary, which could be utilised for deciding cases.
Justice Munib Akhtar explained the constitutionality of police reforms after the 18th amendment in the backdrop of the Constitution of 1973.
After deliberations, the meeting appreciated the efforts of the committee and resolved that further deliberations would be made to finalise the report for timely and effective implementation of the recommendations.
