Khattak for improving police performance in ‘Naya Pakistan’
In light of the policy guidelines of the present provincial government and the directives of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak for reforms in the police, especially regarding the ‘thana’ culture, close circuit cameras are being installed in police stations to directly monitor the activities of the police personnel.
Women desks are also being set up in every police station to facilitate female complainants. A token system is being introduced in the police stations to facilitate those who visited the police stations to register complaints.
This was disclosed in a high-level meeting of the Police Department held at the Chief Minister Secretariat Peshawar chaired by the CM on Friday.
The meeting reviewed the progress made so far regarding the implementation of the CM’s directives to reform the police culture at the police-station level.
Provincial Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, provincial ministers Sirjul Haq, Sikandar Sherpao and Shehram Tarakai, Inspector General Police Ehsan Ghani, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Peshawar Liaqat Ali, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) headquarters Khalid Masood, DIG special branch Akhtar Ali Shah and all the regional and district police officers attended the meeting.
The meeting informed the CM that a system of online registration of FIRs had been put in place, shoulder promotion system had ended, tenure policy was being followed for postings and transfers in the police, regular checking of police stations was being carried out, a school of investigation was being set up to strengthen the investigation sector of the police and the old curriculum of investigation was being replaced with a new one to bring the investigation system at par with the modern and scientific standards.
Addressing the participants of the meeting, Khattak said though the role and sacrifices of the KP police were commendable, the malpractices and rude attitude of the police towards the common people at police stations had earned a bad name both for the police and government. He said there was a trust deficit between the public and the police, adding it could only be restored by a positive change in the attitude of the police.
Khattak said a huge responsibility lay on the district police officers to eradicate the traditional ‘thana’ culture and to make their subordinates the ‘servants’ of the public in the real sense of the word.
Expressing his dissatisfaction over the pace of implementation of his directives, Khattak warned the RPOs and DPOs that they had to perform well otherwise there would be no room for them in the province.
He assured that all problems of the police would be addressed and all its requirements fulfilled on priority basis. He said the KP government was deliberating on enhancing the salaries of the police to boost their performance.
