LAHORE: A consultation was held at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Saturday to discuss the new draft on police reforms that is likely to replace the Police Ordinance, 2002.

Various stakeholders, including police officials, members of the civil bureaucracy, lawyers, human rights activists, journalists and social activists attended the consultation. Members of the civil society were encouraged by the willingness of the police to invite comments on the proposed draft. The consultation recognised the need for police reforms and its impact on citizens at large. It emphasised that the orientation of police reforms must be on community policing, with the crux being on shifting the focus from police being a force to a service meant for the people.

The consultation urged that any accountability mechanism must be non-partisan, independent, and accessible to the aggrieved. It said the tenure of individuals within the accountability bodies must be fixed and protected and recommended that the government could either consider setting up a provincial institution of police ombudsperson or a commission/authority that must be selected by an inter-party parliamentary committee. The consultation agreed on setting up a working group that would revise and amend the present draft in line with principles of democratic policing as well as initiate a campaign geared towards reform of police.
Source: Daily Times
Date:2/14/2010