Every single political government was either derailed or destabilized which led to non-implementation of reforms, especially in the police department, said Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal. He was speaking a seminar titled "Disparities in police systems in provinces and the federal capital," organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Thursday.
"The failure in the implementation of previous police reforms resulted in an unstable society, lack of key stakeholders' involvement and lack of consensus on the reforms initiative," he added. Iqbal said that for the implementation of reforms in any sector, including police "we have to ensure a peaceful and stable democratic system, which is the future of Pakistan."
General Moinuddin Haider(retd), former Governor Sindh on the occasion said that in any society, the local government and policing are two important pillars and institutions for wellbeing and prosperity of public. "Our police are highly politicized and are being used for serving personal interests," he said, adding that the Police Order 2002 is an excellent document and should be implemented in all four provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and B areas of Balochistan.
Executive Director SDPI Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said that Pakistan has witnessed around 28 different police reform initiatives but none yielded its fruits due to lack of ownership at all levels. "The implementation of different police orders in parts of Pakistan, in fact, has generated disparities among the police force," he said, adding that it also has a reflection on the people experiencing policing in a different manner.
One of the challenges to the rule of law in the country is reforming police on modern lines to ensure a just and peaceful society, he said, adding that for that matter there is a need to analyze the pros and cons of the two diverse prevailing police orders being implemented in the federal and provincial capitals. Speaking later, Dr Shoaib Suddle, former Director General of Intelligence Bureau, said that the Police Order 2002, which was promulgated on August 14, 2002 replaced the Police Act 1861 in all four provinces of Pakistan.
"This was not extended to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) or Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)," he said, adding that based on the Police Order 2002, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa introduced their own police orders. Sindh initially adopted the same but later on in 2011 it reverted back to the Police Act 1861, whereas ICT and FATA also have the Police Act 1861 in place with some minor changes, he added. "Our police service is now in the state of fragmentation, which was exposed in the recent Faizabad sit-ins, where there was no coordination and collaboration between the ICT police and Punjab Police," Dr Suddle said.
While referring to the Article 148 of the Constitution, which says that it is the duty of the federation to protect every province from the external aggression as well as internal chaos, he said there should be one law for police service in the whole country. Former judge Majid Bashir Advocate said that there is no conviction on merit in Pakistani judicial system, where only five percent convictions are on merit. "Weak prosecution and poor investigation by the police are responsible for this sorry state of affairs," he added.
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