National Assembly body recommends government to allow new recruitment in capital police

National Assembly's Standing Committee on Interior on Thursday recommended the government to allow new recruitment in the capital police and asked Sindh government to lay down clear procedure for promotion of police officials of lower ranks.
The committee met here at the Parliament House with MNA Abdul Qadir Patel in the chair. The meeting was also attended by Mahmood Bashir Virk, Tasneem Ahmad Qureshi, Wasim Akhtar, Nasir Ahmed Bughio, Muhammad Ijaz Virk Advocate, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Bani Amin, Additional IGP Sindh Falak Khursheed, Shahim Hamid and senior officials of Nadra.
Patel said that there was a set procedure for promotion of CSP officers in police department, but the lower ranks police officials were always denied the right to promotion and remain at the same post for several years. Following the direction of Supreme Court shoulders promotions of 5,000 police personnel were withdrawn and they were demoted. Among these reverted police personnel some have performed very well, therefore the high ups of Sindh police need to form a committee and examine the performance of the police officials who were demoted or their promotion reverted after Supreme Court's order. He recommended promotion to those police officers who deserve it, he said.
He also directed the high ups of Sindh police to separate shoulders and gallantry promotions.
A senior official of Sindh Shahid Hayat informed the committee that according to SC order total 5163 police personnel were demoted, including 394 inspectors, 864 sub-inspectors, 961 assistant sub inspectors and 2944 head constables. He added that police department conducted promotion on the basis of seniority cum fitness while under 9A rule promotion was granted once in life. Last time police personnel got promotion in 2009 after which no promotion was granted.
Additional Chief Secretary Sindh Muhammad Sohail Akbar Shah said that some police personnel got promotion out of turn illegally. After the SC orders, the Sindh government has constituted a committee for promotion of police personnel. As many as 56 police personnel were nominated for promotion under gallantry and the committee has already sought details of these cases.
Waseem Akhtar said that police high ups need to take action as to who allowed illegal promotion in police department. He also said that enquiry should be carried out against those who got promotion out of turn and cases of officials who deserve promotion should be processed according to the law.
He asked police officials not to bow before political pressure and give promotion to police officials according to law. The SC orders meant to rectify the flaws in the system.
Inspector General Police Islamabad Bani Amin informed the committee that the total strength of Islamabad police is 9733. "We are facing shortage of police personnel and if the government allows new recruitment it will further improve the capacity and strength of capital police, he said.
On this the committee recommended to the government to allow new recruitment in the capital police.
He briefed the committee about vacant posts in Islamabad police. Currently, he said, there are 413 posts of constable vacant and 428 retired army personnel were inducted in ICT police on contract basis and these all are about the age of 30 plus. The tenure of contractual employees will be completed in July 2012. The committee also recommended the government not to renew the contract of contractual employees in Islamabad police again.