Policing News from Pakistan
HRFP concerned with the situation of Christians in Pakistan
[Apr 19, 2011]
Human Rights violations on Christians in Pakistan. HRFP appeals for government and police to do something.
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Release all Indian, Pakistani prisoners: Sindh governor
[Apr 18, 2011]
Its not really relevant — but it just happened; so
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Protest against police for sheltering murder accused
[Apr 19, 2011]
People protest outside Lahore police station –accusing police of protecting the murder of an 18 yr old child.
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DIG dismisses seven officials of Lahore Police
[Apr 13, 2011]
Dismissal of 7 police officers on grounds of corruption and the illegal release of a murderer.
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Police reply sought on plea against quashment of case
[Apr 17, 2011]
Police accused for not following orders provided by the court. Reply provided by DSP
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Shoot-at-sight orders given for dacoits, extortionists in Karachi
[Apr 16, 2011]
Shoot at sight orders have been provided when in the case of dacoits or extortionists in at attempt to make Karachi a ‘safer place’
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Death toll in shrine blast rises to 49
[4 April 2011]
DERA GHAZI KHAN: The death toll in the suicide blasts outside the shrine of Syed Ahmad Sakhi Sarwar rose to at least 49 on Monday, DawnNews reported. The blasts occurred on Sunday during the 942nd Urs and left more than 100 people injured, police and hospital sources said.
Police claimed to have prevented a third blast and arrested a bomber who could blow himself up only partially.The blasts took place when hundreds of devotees from various parts of the country had thronged the shrine to attend the weeks-long Urs-cum-spring festivities in the remote town of Sakhi Sarwar, 35 kilometres from Dera Ghazi Khan city. The two dead included women and children. The defunct Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack..
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None of missing people traced so far eligible for compensation, SC told
[31 March 2011]
ISLAMABAD: The government informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that none of the 134 people traced by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances was found to be eligible for compensation.
Additional Attorney General K.K. Agha told a three-judge bench comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed and Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali that a sub-committee formed by the government had taken up each case on merit and found that none of the victims qualified for compensation.
Media help sought for bridging police, community gap
[30 March 2011]
ISLAMABAD: The speakers at a seminar underlined the need for good working relationship between media and police in overcoming the gap between police and community.
The seminar titled, ‘Police-community collaboration in purview of police portrayal in media’ was organized here on Tuesday by Rozan, a non governmental organisation (NGO) working on issues of emotional health, gender, violence against women and children and psychological and reproductive health of youth.
Pakistan’s secret dirty war
[30 March 2011]
In Balochistan, mutilated corpses bearing the signs of torture keep turning up, among them lawyers, students and farm workers. Why is no one investigating and what have they got to do with the bloody battle for Pakistan’s largest province?
The bodies surface quietly, like corks bobbing up in the dark. They come in twos and threes, a few times a week, dumped on desolate mountains or empty city roads, bearing the scars of great cruelty. Arms and legs are snapped; faces are bruised and swollen. Flesh is sliced with knives or punctured with drills; genitals are singed with electric prods. In some cases the bodies are unrecognisable, sprinkled with lime or chewed by wild animals. All have a gunshot wound in the head.
Mirza for reforms in community policing system
[29 March 2011]
F.P. Report KARACHI: The Sindh Home Minister, Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza, has accorded formal approval for bringing reforms in policing system through Public-Private Partnership
An official statement on Monday said that he has asked the Consultant on Home Affairs, Sharfuddin Memon, to convene a joint meeting with Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Karachi and volunteer NGO at the earliest. It said that the Minister observed that the said Public-Private venture was very much in line with the concept of Community Policing and efforts should be geared up to expand the network of community policing at all Police Stations level in order to ensure stable peace.
SHC issues notices to DG Rangers, CCPO in illegal detention case
[27 March 2011]
The Sindh High Court on Saturday issued notices to the director-general Rangers, the CCPO Karachi and others on a petition against the alleged illegal detention of a man by the law enforcement agencies.
Mohammad Hanif submitted that his son Mohammad Junaid was picked up by personnel of law enforcement agencies on March 19 from the Risala police station area and his whereabouts were still unknown. The petitioner submitted that his son was working in a shop when he was picked up and expressed apprehensions about his life.
Pakistan suicide bomber targets police station
[24 March 2011]
At least five people dead after suicide bomber rams car loaded with explosives into police station in north-west Pakistan
A suicide bomber has rammed a car loaded with explosives into a police station in north-west Pakistan, killing five and wounding more than two dozen people, police said. It was the second attack in as many days against police in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that has been targeted by militants many times in recent years.
PHC takes note of police high-handedness
[22 March 2011]
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday observed that it had received information on the police ‘pick and choose’ methodology in lodging first information reports (FIRs) against the militants in Buner district.
A single bench of the high court presided over by Justice Dost Mohammad Khan passed these remarks while hearing the case of a terror suspect.Justice Dost Mohammad observed that he had received information that in some cases the police had adopted ‘pick and choose’ method for registering terrorism cases against the militants in Buner by taking bribes. He said the militants had even extended their activities to the capital city.
Pakistan death row prisoners ‘languish in jail’
[15 March 2011]
More than 8,000 prisoners sentenced to death by Pakistani courts over the past 20 years still languish in jail, the Asian Human Rights Commission has said.
The vast majority are appealing against their sentences – those condemned include foreigners, females and young and old people. The report says that some prefer to remain in jail as they feel safer. “This is because of family enmity and the possibility of being assassinated,” the report written by Malik Ayub Sumbal says
23,439 FIRs registered in 67 districts
[9 March 2011]
A total of 23,439 First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered with police in 67 districts. Of the total registered crimes, 1,422 cases (6%) pertained to murder and attempted murder, according to FAFEN’s monthly crime monitor, the first report of which was released here on Tuesday.
Trained FAFEN governance monitors collected the compiled figures of FIRs registered under various crimes from offices of district police officers (DPOs) in 67 districts – 27 districts in Punjab, 20 districts in KP, 15 districts in Sindh, four districts in Balochistan and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s sole Christian minister, is assassinated in Islamabad
[3 March 2011]
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – Pakistan’s federal minorities minister, a Christian, was gunned down by suspected Islamist militants in this capital city Wednesday in the second killing this year of a senior government official who had spoken out against the country’s stringent anti-blasphemy laws.
Shahbaz Bhatti, the sole Christian cabinet member in majority-Muslim Pakistan, was shot multiple times by gunmen who surrounded his car as he left for work from his mother’s house, near his home in a residential neighborhood. The attackers fled, but fliers scattered at the scene bore the names of the militant Islamist groups Punjabi Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Two judges kidnapped in Balochistan
[28 February 2011]
QUETTA: A district and sessions judge and a civil judge of Sibi were kidnapped in Jaffarabad district on Sunday, while four senior lawyers of the Balochistan High Court, kidnapped five days earlier, are yet to be traced.
Lawyers’ associations have announced a boycott of courts in the province on Monday and threatened to hold protest rallies if the kidnapped judges and lawyers are not recovered. According to sources, Sibi District and Sessions Judge Jan Mohammad Gohar Yasinzai and Civil Judge Mohammad Ali Kakar were going to Usta Mohammad in a private car to attend a wedding
Davis refuses to accept charge-sheet; hearing adjourned
[25 February 2011]
LAHORE: US official Raymond Davis insisted in court Friday that he should be set free because he has diplomatic immunity, an attorney involved in the case said. During Friday’s hearing, which was held in the Kot Lakhpat jail and closed to the public, prosecutors tried to present Davis, accused of killing two youths – Faizan and Faheem — at Qartaba Chowk on January 27, with a charge-sheet.
More Pak policemen didn’t lead to better policing
[13 February 2011]
Very little appears in the Indian media about the health of the Pakistan police. Our attention is overwhelmingly concentrated on the ISI, which, we believe, is controlling our neighbouring country. Prof Hassan Abbas, a former Pakistan police officer, now in Columbia University, tends to agree. He read a paper at the Oxford University Seminar (October 2010) where I spoke on protecting urban centres from terrorism (The Sunday Guardian, 14 November 2010). Abbas highlighted how the ISI was hindering Pakistan police’s counter-terrorist work. Foreign assistance was mostly gobbled up by the Pakistan Army. Abbas, a fellow of Asia Society, New York has written extensively on Pakistan’s police reforms for Brookings Institute and Harvard’s Kennedy School. His latest paper, “Reforming Pakistan’s Police and Law Enforcement Infrastructure”, which he sent me, was published this month by the US Institute of Peace, a think tank funded by the US Congress. It is a fervent plea to western donors on police reforms for creating a democratic Pakistan, moving away from military related assistance.
PAKISTAN: Supreme Court should hear cases of extrajudicial killings of disappeared persons
[8 February 2011] AHRC-STM-026-2011
The human rights movement of Pakistan is heartened by the directives of the five-member-bench of the Supreme Court to the Inspectors General of Police (IGPs) to furnish full details of the cases of missing persons registered in their respective provinces. The court also ordered the IGPs to lodge First Information Reports (FIRs) for those cases of missing persons in which evidence is available, failing which action would be initiated against them.
SC concerned over law, order situation in Balochistan
[25 February 2011]
ISLAMABAD: : Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary, while hearing the case pertaining to law and order situation in Balochistan, in his remarks said that situation is getting worse there, adding that it would have dire consequences in future, Geo News reported.
Three-member bench was hearing petition filed by Balochistan High Court Bar.The court directed the authorities concerned to bring the matter in the notice of the Prime Minister besides submitting his response till Tuesday.
Police make a case for using govt fees
From the Newspaper, 25 January 2011
By Syed Irfan Raza
ISLAMABAD, Jan 24: The capital police on Monday told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that their services, including the issuance of computerised driving licence, would have to be stopped if they were not allowed to use the money they collect in government fees.
Syed Kaleem Imam, who attended the PAC meeting on his last day as Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad, agreed that the police were not authorised to collect and use government receipts but added that most of the “police functions” would be wrapped up if they were deprived of this money.
The PAC meeting, chaired by Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, grilled him for using Rs32.53 million police collected in government receipts under different heads, on the police department.
The committee`s chairman observed that Islamabad police were unauthorised to collect any fee because rules did not permit it.
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s defiant prisoner of intolerance, vows to stay put
Declan Walsh, Karachi, 23 January 2011
‘These death threats won’t make me flee’, says Rehman, who supports reform of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. All Sherry Rehman wants is to go out – for a coffee, a stroll, lunch, anything. But that’s not possible. Death threats flood her email inbox and mobile phone; armed police are squatted at the gate of her Karachi mansion; government ministers advise her to flee.
“I get two types of advice about leaving,” says the steely politician. “One from concerned friends, the other from those who want me out so I’ll stop making trouble. But I’m going nowhere.” She pauses, then adds quietly: “At least for now.”
Protest as Mumtaz Qadri in court over Taseer death
24 January 2011 Last updated at 13:29 GMT
The self-confessed assassin of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer has appeared in court as dozens of his supporters demonstrated outside. Mumtaz Qadri, 26, was brought for a procedural hearing at an anti-terrorism court in a Rawalpindi city jail. He has admitted gunning down Mr Taseer earlier this month in Islamabad, after the governor backed reforms to controversial blasphemy laws.
Qadri has been hailed as a hero by many in Pakistan. The BBC’s M Ilyas Khan, who was outside the court in Rawalpindi’s main Adiala jail, says more than 50 Qadri supporters turned up, waving placards and shouting slogans.
Murder most foul!
Murtaza Razvi
January 4, 2011 (3 weeks ago)
The assassination of the Punjab Governor Salman Taseer this afternoon in Islamabad by an armed guard reportedly deputed for his security raises the fundamental issue once again: that religious indoctrination is feeding the fires of hatred and intolerance. Although details as to the motive of the crime have yet to emerge, by the very trappings it seems little else but a crime of hate.
Mr Taseer had few friends left in his last days. His outspoken defence of the Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy under questionable charges leveled against her by fellow Muslim villagers and who has been on the death row in a Punjab prison for over a year awaiting appeal in a higher court, made him a hate figure for extremist and Islamist outfits and parties. Major religious parties called out nationwide strikes on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve to demand Aasia Bibi’s execution under the controversial blasphemy law, and to condemn her sympathisers, Mr Taseer being one of the foremost public figures amongst the latter group and thus the object of hate.
Pakistan’s criminal justice system needs reform: ICG
6 December 2010
Islamabad/Brussels: In a report about “Reforming Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System,” the International Crisis Group urged the government of Pakistan to take immediate actions to reform the criminal justice system of the country.
The report also stressed against taking Suo moto notices by the High Courts, and said that the act should only be taken in the cases of severe human rights violations.
The report also emphasised on legally distributing power among different sectors of the government.The ICG report mentioned that the war against terrorism is not in civilian control due to weak investigations and poorly trained prosecutors. The report asked Europe and US to help civilian institutions of Pakistan for making the criminal justice system of the country stronger. The report also asked the international community to warn Pakistan army upon illegal detention and arbitrary killings in the name of war against terrorism. ICG said that due to overall weakness of the system, the release of a terrorist is not a big deal in Pakistan, where powerful criminals are operating from inside the Jails. ICG also requested the international community to raise funds for strengthening the criminal justice system of the troubled country. The report urged the government to eliminate discriminatory laws on religion, creed, gender and religious factions.
Home dept cell gets 147 complaints against police
* 663 cases during last 40 days, 333 resolved
6 December 2010
KARACHI: The Sindh Home Department’s newly established complaint cell has received 663 public complaints from across the province during last 40 days.
“Most of the cases pertained to the behaviour of police”, said a spokesman of the Home Department here on Sunday.
He said that people got registered 147 complaints against the police officials and added that most of the complaints were related to non-registration of FIRs, misbehaviour and non-cooperative attitude and delay in investigation of the pending cases. The cell received complaints during the period from Oct 24 to Dec 3, the home department spokesman said and added that most complaints were received from Karachi city by the cell. He said comparatively the complaints received by the cell were low because of lack of awareness among the masses and added that aggressive efforts were afoot to inform the crime victims about the benefits of the cell. The cell has resolved 333 cases so far while other complaints are being reviewed by the concerned police in their respective jurisdiction as per directives of Sindh Home Minister, Dr Zulfiqar Mirza.
He said that two cases were registered against extortionists, four cases of target killings, five cases of car and motorcycle snatching, six cases were received regarding street crimes, 17 cases of kidnappings, 19 cases of domestic torture against women and 463 pertained to other minor crimes. About the situation of the complaints, he said, the home minister has ordered the complaint cell to keep a close liaison with the concerned police officers and DCOs to help resolve the suffering of the masses that have no influence
Suicide bombers kill scores in Mohmand; over 60 injured
7 December 2010
GHALANAI: At least 40 people were killed and over 60 others injured in two suicide attacks at the administrative compound of Mohmand tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
“Two suicide bombers struck at a time when people, including security guards, were preparing for Zohr prayers,” Amjad Ali Khan, administrator of Mohmand, told Dawn on phone from the regional headquarters of Ghalanai.
According to a foreign news agency, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella organisation of several militant groups, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Mr Amjad put the death toll at 40, but agency’s Surgeon Dr Mohammad Riaz said it could rise to 50 as army personnel were still retrieving bodies from the rubble of the crumbled compound. The administrator said that one bomber wearing uniform of Khasadar (local tribal police) blew himself up at the main gate and the other inside the compound. “Monday is a working day and usually 2,000 to 3,000 tribesmen come for different errands and official work. Thank God, it was prayers’ time. Otherwise, the casualty figure would have been much higher,” he said.
Effective mechanism stressed to improve police performance
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Highlighting deficiencies in the police department, speakers at a seminar on “Police Reforms: Challenges and Opportunities” emphasised upon the need of an effective check and balance system, culture of accountability under an internal mechanism, community policing, modern trainings and equipment to improve performance of the police.
The seminar was jointly organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) on Monday.
Governance Institutes Network International (GINI) Advisor Daniyal Aziz presided the participants over the proceedings and gave a detailed account of reform efforts in Pakistan including the Police Order 2002. He said that police system in Pakistan was deteriorated by successive governments and highlighted the need of professionalism and strengthening of role of law enforcement agencies.
He said that the Police Order 2002 was a part of much wider set of administrative reforms, not ever seen in history of the country. He observed the policing practices of the British rule were being followed in Pakistan adding the reforms would help Pakistan transit from a colonial system to a democratic one. They would most importantly create a separation between the police and judiciary, he said. He maintained the Order was well drafted but its implementation was the major issue.
MQM-H, PPP men gunned down
7 December 2010
KARACHI: Two political activists were gunned down in as many incidents in the city on Monday, police said.
The incidents of politically motivated targeted killings continue unabated in the metropolis, as 15 activist have so far been killed since last month.
In the first incident, assailants targeted an activist of the Aamir Khan-led faction of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, better known as MQM-Haqiqi, in Korangi.
The police said that 45-year-old Mahmood Hasan was riding his motorbike when armed men targeted him near Indus Mor in Korangi.
“A few eyewitnesses told the police that they saw two men who were wearing helmets on a motorbike intercept the victim as he slowed down over a speed-breaker. One of the attackers got off the motorbike and fired multiple shots at him,” said the SHO of the Zaman Town police station.
The victim sustained three bullet wounds and died on the spot, he said, adding that the attackers escaped. The police found some six casings of spent bullets fired from a 9mm pistol at the crime-scene.
Sialkot accused sent on three-day-long remand
September 6, 2010
LAHORE: An Anti-Terrorism Court on Monday handed over the 18 accused of the Sialkot lynching case to police for a three-day-long physical remand.
On request of the police, the court sent SHO Rana Ilyas, Constable Mubarak and the remaining 16 accused, on remand.
The court also reprimanded a police constable for giving VIP protocol to accused SHO Ilyas.
Eighteen people, including the accused policemen, were arrested in relation with the murders of brothers, Mugheez and Muneeb, in Sialkot on August 15.
Pakistan foils plot to kill prime minister: police
BAHAWALPUR, Pakistan , 14 October , 2010
(Reuters) – Pakistan police arrested a group of suspected militants accused of plotting to kill the prime minister and several senior government figures, security officials said on Thursday.
The seven suspects arrested on Wednesday night after a shootout near the eastern city of Bahawalpur belong to the Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which is allied to al Qaeda.
“They had plans to blow up an explosive-laden vehicle near the house of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in Multan when he was visiting there,” a security official in Bahawalpur told Reuters, referring to the ancestral residence of Gilani in a nearby city in Punjab province. He was confirming reports from a police official. Federal government and security officials were not immediately available for comment.
Govt to recruit 3,000 extra police for Karachi: Malik
Friday, 22 Oct, 2010
KARACHI: The government will recruit 3,000 extra police in a bid to stem repeated outbreaks of violence in Karachi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Friday.
More than 70 people have died in Karachi as a result of politically motivated killings since Saturday. In recent months, Karachi has suffered the worst such violence in years with 85 people killed after a lawmaker was shot dead in August.”We will recruit 3,000 more policemen in Karachi,” Rehman Malik told reporters, blaming the violence on organised crime networks.
“Action will be taken against anyone who dares challenge the writ of the state,” he added, but declined to reveal any details. Malik said that after “drug mafia” and “land-grabbing mafia” the city was now facing “extortion mafia”. Malik said four murders were reported in the city overnight “but no targeted killings” and urged political parties to work together for peace.
Pak-India ties interlinked with settlement of Kashmir issue: DG Pak Rangers
Thursday 28th October, 2010
LAHORE: Major General Muhammad Yaqoob Director General Pak rangers said that Pak-India ties could not be improved until settlement of outstanding issues between the two countries especially Kashmir issue.
Major General Muhammad Yaqoob DG Pak ranger expressed these views while talking to media before five-day dialogue between BSF and Pak rangers. He said that he would ask Indian delegation to release innocent Pakistanis imprisoned in India.
He said that all outstanding issues including border crossing, illegal smuggling, crossing and violation of cease-fire would come under discussion during the dialogue. He said that two rounds of debates were held between the forces of both the countries, which were proving successful to some extent.
He said that issues like border crossing, illegal smuggling, indiscriminate firing by Indian forces on working boundary and violation of cease-fire would come under discussion during the dialogue between BSF and Pak rangers here in Lahore.
Answering to question he replied that during dialogue issue of releasing Pakistanis imprisoned in India would be raised. He said that if any person accidentally crosses the border then border forces keep him in custody only for 24 hours and after that he is handed over to police and then the matter is forwarded to foreign ministry.
No let-up in Karachi bloodshed, 29 killed in a day
By S. Raza Hassan
Wednesday, 20 Oct, 2010
KARACHI: Daylong violence in different parts of Karachi on Tuesday claimed at least 29 lives, 12 of them in an attack on a scrap market in Shershah area.
The city, which was already tense following early morning shootouts and killings in different areas, further descended into fear and panic after the Shershah attack. Scattered incidents of target killing followed.
At least 12 people, most of them shopkeepers and workers, were killed and eight others injured when about 10 unknown men opened fire.>
The assailants stepped off motorcycles after entering one of the oldest scrap markets in the city and opened fire on shopkeepers.
A man, Anis Anwer, and his two sons, Umair Anis and Zubair Anis, were among the victims. Sources said that Anis Anwer had six daughters.
Mobs and the police
Dawn Editorial
Friday, 15 Oct, 2010
Few situations are more terrifying than a lynch mob. But when law-enforcers instigate or abet the violence, it raises fears about the speed at which the rule of law is being eroded in Pakistan.
At least three incidents of mob violence have come to light in recent months, in all of which police personnel either stood by or contributed to the violence. In mid-August, two brothers were beaten to death by a mob in Sialkot while the police watched. A month later, a man was bludgeoned to death in Gujrat and policemen at the scene refused to come to his rescue. Now, video footage has surfaced showing a body being triumphantly carried out of a Dera Ghazi Khan police station by a mob, which then set fire to it. The incident is said to have occurred in March. The victim Abdullah Chandia had allegedly committed murder and then turned himself in at the Choti Zaireen police station. The victim’s younger brother told this paper on Wednesday that he had witnessed DSP Iqbal Chandia shooting his brother in the head and SHO Noor Ahmad Chandia firing shots into the body before handing it over to the mob outside.
Pakistan Army killings back in spotlight over video
1 October, 2010
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: A video posted on the Internet is raising fresh questions about possible extra-judicial killings by Pakistan’s army, which could threaten US aid to a key ally in the battle against the Taliban.
The United States has asked Pakistan for information about the internet video purporting to show Pakistani troops, lined up in a firing squad, shooting bound and blindfolded young men in traditional clothing, officials said on Thursday. If the blurry, amateurish video is found to be genuine, it raises troubling questions for the United States and its support of the Pakistani army. US law forbids funding foreign military units singled out for human rights violations.
“The US government, not just the Defense Department, is aware of the video and has asked the Pakistan government for more information,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said.At the State Department, spokesman P.J. Crowley said: “We have encouraged them to investigate it fully.
Formidable police force top priority: IGP(KP)
5 October 2010
Peshawar—Inspector General of Police Fiaz Ahmad Khan Toru has said that building a formidable police force was his top priority and force jawans have to make my hands strong through their best performance in the field for this purpose.
He was addressing a police Darbar at police line Mardan, said a press release issued here on Sunday.All rank police officers and jawans of distt: Mardan and Swabi largely attended the function.The police chief informed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police was one of the best police in the world and its jawans in every hour of trail and crises particularly in the on going war against terror had proved their worth and had won both national and international appreciation for it.
Police asked to respect women at police stations
Staff Report
29 September, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Senior Superintendent Police Mir Vias Niaz has directed the police officials to register all cases related to women at women police station to ensure the justice for the females. Vias further instructed police officials to give respect to those citizens who visit police stations to lodge the complaints and seeking immediate assistance from police.
SHC summons IG over misleading statement
By Jamal Khurshid
28 September, 2010
Sindh High Court summoned IG Sindh for filing incorrect statement regarding the submission of police reports in 5,422 pending cases in the trial courts of the province. The direction came during the hearing of a petition of Member Inspection Team-II regarding the non-submission of police reports in 5,422 cases before the trial courts in the province. The Sindh High Court had directed IG Sindh to take measures for disposing of 5,422 pending cases in the province and submit the report. The court also directed IG Sindh to ensure that every investigation officer sends copy of FIR to concerned magistrate within 24 hours of its registration as well as submitting the charge-sheets under section 173 Cr.P.C within stipulated time.
Sialkot Murders: The Criminalisation of Justice
By Hina Jilani
30 September 2010
The mob violence in Sialkot in which two brothers were battered to death has only confirmed that the malady affecting Pakistan is not limited to the actions or omissions of the state, but is also rooted in the social conduct of the people in general. Exposure to public hangings, whippings, stoning to death and other such spectacles arranged by the state machinery or religiously motivated vigilantes has further contributed to the tolerance of violence by a society that has historically practiced violence as a culture. Killing women in the name of honour, inflicting torture on children in the name of discipline and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment meted out as a means of public humiliation of the weak by the powerful is not only practiced with impunity but also accepted and defended by a large section of society.
These trends have manifested themselves in several incidents of collective violence that have come to light more recently. In Karachi, a mob killed two men alleged to be dacoits and set the dead bodies on fire. In Gojra, a crowd attacked a Christian community, killing eight persons and torching churches and other property. In Gujranwala, a man accused of defiling the holy Quran was killed by a mob and his body dragged in the streets. Lack of effective action against those responsible for these crimes and a perverse glorification of such trends has encouraged others to follow suit.
Political parties reject new FC powers
September 09, 2010
By Mohammad Zafar
- PML-N, BNP, NP condemn govt decision to increase FC powers
- Demand FC be placed under provincial control
- PML-N leader says party was not consulted over decisions
QUETTA: As expected, most of the political forces have joined hands in opposing Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s plan to hand over policing powers to the Frontier Corps (FC).
Political parties, including the Balochistan National Party (BNP), the National Party (NP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), rejected the government’s decision. Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the BNP president, said that military operation had never stopped in Balochistan. “It was accelerated or slowed down with the passage by subsequent governments, but it never stopped,” he added.
“The situation is directly under the control of the army and politicians and leaders are mere proxies. The real rulers are the army generals who take the decisions,” Mengal said.
Dire Straits- On Pakistan’s Police Reforms
September 17, 2010
by Sher Ali Khan
During any dinner table conversation that doesn’t revolve around sports or politics, the topic of the police might come up. Along with the qualms about policing and the behaviour of policemen, there is no doubt a general agreement about the need for reform in the police. But before one can even think of reform, understanding the Pakistan police as an organization is imperative if a decision is to be made about what can be done to fix the system. In this regard, legislation has been passed, but any immediate change will take time.
Recently, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) hosted a joint launch of the booklet ‘Police organizations in Pakistan’ at the HRCP New Garden Town office to discuss and understand how to improve police organizations in Pakistan. The speakers at the event underscored the need to make the police a people-friendly institution that should be made accountable through legislative reforms. The booklet, which was authored by the famed human rights lawyer and journalist Asad Jamal, was seen as an important piece of information that could create awareness about police organizations in Pakistan.
Police reforms
Dawn Editorial
6 September, 2010
To deter crime, there must be punishment. But in order to punish correctly and fairly, the process needs to stand on two firm legs: one, the police side, the other, the judicial side. Few would argue against the claim that the police and judicial processes in the country are broken and in need of complete overhaul. Yet, it is the continuing neglect of these two vital areas that is astonishing. A report in this newspaper yesterday highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the legal status of Police Order 2002, the law that replaced the mid-19th century Police Act but that after the 18th Amendment may or may not still hold the field. That the country could be functioning without clarity on the law that governs the police is simply bizarre.
Twenty killed, 90 injured in Kohat bomb blast
By Abdul Sami Paracha
8 September, 2010
KOHAT: At least 20 people, mostly relatives of policemen, were killed and more than 90 injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast inside a police colony on Tuesday.
Two policemen, Zafran Ali and Constable Nawazish Ali, were among the dead while other victims were women and children of the policemen living in the colony. The blast took place at 6.58pm, a few minutes after iftar, when male members of the police colony had left their homes for prayers and their children and women were breaking their fast at homes. Kohat’s District Police Officer Dilawar Bangash told Dawn that terrorists had parked a double-cabin pickup inside the police colony, located just behind the heavily-guarded police lines. The vehicle was laden with 200 kilograms of highly explosive material. Independent sources said that more than 500 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast. The other important thing was that the terrorists had selected a very soft target and nobody had an idea that they could make a strike at such a place, they added.
Sialkot Lynching Reinforces Need For Police Reform
August 22, 2010
Scores of people brutally beat to death two young brothers, Hafiz Mughees, 15, and Hafiz Muneeb, 19, while senior police officials in Sialkot, Pakistan, stood by and watched silently. Their limp bodies were later hanged in a public square.
Like in prior lynchings in other parts of the country, there have been usual expressions of horror and statements of sympathy for the victims in this most recent crime. Even the the chief justice of the supreme court of Pakistan has taken suo moto actions as he has many times in the past.>
Blasts kill 28 in Pakistan’s Lahore, 170 hurt
Dawn news
1 September, 2010
LAHORE: Three bombs exploded at a Shi’ite procession in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday, with a mounting death toll of 28 people and wounding over 170, piling pressure on a government already overwhelmed by floods.
Police said two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd, after a lull in violence during the floods, the type of attack that Pakistani Taliban militants have claimed in the past.
Fourteen killed, 34 injured in Lakki Marwat explosion
Dawn News
6 September, 2010
PESHAWAR: A suicide car bomber killed at least fourteen people and injured 34 in an attack Monday on a police post in northwest Pakistan, a police official said.
“A suicide attacker drove his bomb-laden vehicle into the back of the police post” in Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, not far from tribal areas that are a stronghold of the Taliban, local police chief Gul Wali Khan told AFP by telephone.
Two more political activists shot dead in Karachi
By Imran Ayub
Wednesday, 30 Jun, 2010
KARACHI: As the month of June draws to an end, two political activists belonging to the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Afaq Ahmed-led faction of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) were gunned down in different areas of the city on Tuesday. With these two assassinations, the number of lives lost to the Lyari gang warfare and political, sectarian and ethnic killings in the city during this month has increased to While the targeted killings, which continued throughout the month without a day’s break, kept public life disturbed in the metropolis, it only fetched promises from the authorities to fight terrorism with no serious corresponding effort.
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Poor police performance
By Zahid Abdullah
Thursday, 24 Jun, 2010
IT is generally assumed that the less than satisfactory performance of the police in protecting the lives and property of citizens is caused by the scarcity of human and financial resources. However, the budget books tell an entirely different story so far as the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police is concerned. According to 2009 estimates, the total population of Islamabad was 1.21 million. In 2009-10, the total strength of the Islamabad Capital Territory Police was 10,700. This included 238 officers and 10,462 staff. The ratio of one policeman per 113 persons is far better than the one-policeman-per-600 citizens ratio that law-enforcement experts recommend.
Govt defying SC verdict
By Abrar Saeed
June 15, 2010
In defiance of Supreme Court of Pakistan’s verdict, the Government has not done anything substantial for the restoration of the Public Safety Commissions (PSC) in the country, which used to shield the innocent people from highhandedness of police. The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in its April 13 order, had directed the Government to restore the Public Safety Commissions by May 17 for the collective good of the poor masses, which were suffering at the hands of the police.
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