Islamabad, August 06, 2018 (PPI-OT): Today, a Meeting was held in the Supreme Court of Pakistan under the Chairmanship of the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan to consider the Report titled “Police Reforms: The way Forward” prepared by a Police Law Reform Committee constituted under the auspices of Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan.
In his introductory remarks, the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan stated that the police reforms are important for improving the performance of criminal justice system. He lamented that defective investigation leads to uncertainty and mistrust in the formal justice system. The Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan stated that the Judiciary is meant to do justice; however, the cause of justice is being defeated due to poor investigation. He further stated that lack of responsiveness and equity has shaken the confidence of people in the Police.
The meeting was attended by the Honourable Mr. Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Judge Supreme court of Pakistan, Honourable Mr. Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan, Honourable Mr. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Munib Akhtar, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan, Honourable Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan. Retired and serving Inspectors General of Police attended the meeting. The Registrar Supreme Court of Pakistan and Dr. Muhammad Raheem Awan, Secretary Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan also attended the meeting.
The convener of Police Reforms Committee Mr. Afzal Ali Shigri appraised the participants about the systematic approach adopted by the Police Reforms Committee for preparation and compilation of the Report. He briefed the meeting about the terms of reference of the Committee that are broadly (i) Model Police Law; (ii) Accountability and Operational Matters; and (iii) Legislative Reforms.
Dr. Shoaib Suddle, Mr. Tariq Khosa, Mr. Shoukat Javed, Mr. Asad Jehangir and Mr. Tariq Pervez, all former IGs made presentations on drafting Model Police Law, Police Accountability, Urban Policing, Improvement in investigation and Combating Terrorism by criminal justice system, respectively.
The Honourable Mr. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan emphasized the need of internal and external oversight mechanism to improve the quality of investigation and to address the grievances against the police. His Lordship also highlighted that non-availability of effective complaint resolution mechanism puts extra burden on judiciary causing wastage of resources and time of judiciary, which can be utilized for deciding cases.
Honourable Mr. Justice Munib Akhtar, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan explained the constitutionality of Police Reforms after 18th amendment in the backdrop of the Constitution of 1973. After deliberations, the meeting appreciated the efforts of the Committee and resolved that the further deliberations would be made to finalize the Report and suggest ways and means for timely and effective implementation of the recommendations.
On 8th May 2018, the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan held a meeting with the retired and serving Inspectors General of Police to highlight deficiencies in the functioning of criminal justice system that requires Police Reforms and accordingly, on 15th May 2018 a Police Reforms Committee was constituted. After series of meetings, the Committee prepared its Report that was considered in today’s subject meeting.
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