Islamabad : The Police Order (PO) 2002 was drafted after a 2-year exercise by a group of top professional police officers with input from the summary of their experiences and accomplished the hard task by the sweat of their brows.
The picture shows Islamabad police personnel in this undated photo. — AFP/File
The recommendations of the PO-2002 were implemented in selective parts of all four provinces. However, surprisingly those could not be put into practice in the Federal Capital Islamabad, despite, the orders of the higher courts in 2017.
It was widely believed that the establishment and the bureaucracy, especially, the Pakistan Administration Service (PAS or the DMG) never wanted to share the authority they enjoyed right from the beginning to rule and control the system.
The idea of establishing Police Commissionerates with enhanced administrative and adjudication powers was taken as an infringement or even a threat to the domain of the Assistant Commissioners and subsequently upward in the system.
The ACs and the DCs have always used the PSP (Police Service of Pakistan) as their muscle power and the Police were under the command of these ACs and DCs to carry out any action where it was required to maintain law and order or to implement orders issued by the District Administration.
The PO-2002 had tried to entrust more powers and autonomy to the Police to act and free them from the shackles of District Administration (ACs, DCs). Under the PO-2002, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) of any province or region had the authority to promote his subordinate officers/officials based on their performance and achievements.
The first pinch was felt by the PAS when during Musharraf’s times they were ordered to hand certain powers to the elected Chairmen of District and Tehsil Councils as a result of which the DC and AC Offices were required to be handed over to the chairmen of District and Tehsil chairmen.
However, the bureaucracy reversed that decision on the first available opportunity, and the elected District and Tehsil Chairmen were ushered out of those luxurious offices, to be taken back by the DCs and ACs.
The latest incident of this skirmish between PAS/DMG and the PSP cadre came to the fore when the Interior Ministry, through a letter written to the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad directed to ‘un-do’ the promotions of PSP officers from Grade 17 to Grade 18 made in the Islamabad Police by the orders of the Inspector-General of Police, Islamabad.
The concerned circles expressed their annoyance while saying that the letter from the Interior Ministry to the Chief Commissioner Islamabad infringes upon the powers of the office of the Inspector-General of Police Islamabad on one hand while on the other it has dealt a blow to the morale throughout the rank and file of the Islamabad Police.
“In any critical and violent situation, the Police have always been waiting for the orders to act from the AC or the DC. And in each such event while the police are engaged in quelling violence and dealing with the protestors and agitators there is more attention paid to the safety and security of the AC or the DC who watches the whole scene from a safe distance, surrounded by a group of the best-trained police constables,” the concerned police officials grumbled.
“And yet, the IGP, who is directly watching and analysing the performance and actions of his force is being denied the right to reward his subordinates which they had earned based on their performance,” they said.
The sources in the Police said that this unequal division of power between PAS/DMG and the PSP will remain a bone of contention until the PO-2002 is implemented throughout Pakistan in its letter and spirit.
In the middle of the heat of actions in Islamabad, a cold response was observed from the Ministry of Interior (MoI) for implementing PO-2002 despite clear directions from the Islamabad High Court through multiple judgments. The fresh ripple in the waters has come from MoI, where the Secretary of Interior has directed the Chief Commissioner Islamabad that promotions granted by the Islamabad Capital City Police Officer, aka IG Islamabad, are “null and void”.
In December 2022, when ICT was gripped with multiple challenges of law and order and political upheaval, ICCPO Dr. Akbar Nasir Khan was ordered by the Mohsin Kiani Judge of IHC to implement the PO-2002 and submit a report to that effect. It must be remembered that before that, the then Chief Justice of Islamabad, Athar Minallah, had also ordered the Ministry of Interior to implement the PO 2002.
In the ICT Judicial Review Committees, MoI and the Chief Commissioner assured its implementation without any result, the ICT police said, adding, “They neither implemented the decisions of IHC nor let the Police do it by keeping them under their thumb through financial constraints by using it as leverage.”
Chief Commissioner Islamabad and spokesman of the Interior Ministry didn’t respond when contacted on his mobile phone by this scribe.
Source link: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1147685-resistance-to-implementation-of-police-order-2002