Islamabad, January 08, 2019 (PPI-OT): Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr. Shireen Mazari was Chief Guest at the Seminar on Police Reforms and Gender Based Violence organised by Pakistan Forum for Democratic Policing. Speaking to the occasion, Dr. Mazari highlighted the importance of Police Reforms and said that it is one of the top agenda items of PTI Government. The Minister reiterated that Government is committed to depoliticized police department by introducing a merit based system.
Only professional police force can play a vital role in improving Law and order situation of the country, she said. It was mentioned that different provinces are following different legislations regarding the working of police department, responsible for creating discrepancies. Comprehensive Police Reforms are prerequisite to deal with such discrepancies. The Federal Minister underscored the need of improving working conditions of Police department and said and our police lacked resources. “We need to give them dignity and respect” she said.
On the other hand it is also very important to change the colonial mindset of our police force. We need to shift their focus from controlling the population to community policing. Trust between police and public needs to be strengthen. If Police is not reformed, it would be impossible to bring prisoner reforms, criminal justice reforms and to improve law and order situation.
Dr. Mizari also touched upon the issues of forced disappearance and extra judicial killings and urged that in any democratic society such things should never be allowed to happen. She also told that the Ministry of Human Rights is initiating Anti- Torture Bill in the upcoming session of National Assembly and also taking up the issue of forced disappearance. Besides reforms, the police needs to be sensitized regarding the vulnerable section of society and the laws which are already available.
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