PAT to introduce comprehensive police reform package: Qazi Zahid Hussain

Qazi Zahid Hussain, central PAT President, has said that no development can be achieved without ensuring the security of life, honour and property of the people. He said that the deteriorating law and order situation in the country is not limited to the dangers posed to safety of belongings and life alone but is also weakening the relationship between the people and the state. He said the people are consumed by fear when they step out of their homes in the evening, stating that the robbers and dacoits are on the loose in the major cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, etc.

Qazi Zahid Hussain said that the graph of street crimes has gone up. He said that about Rs. 5 billion are spent on the police force nationally but due to the unprofessional conduct of police, lack of training and involvement in the political activities, the institution of police has been damaged.

He said that PAT considers the protection of the life, dignity and property of the people to be the first and foremost responsibility of the state. He said if elected to power, we would ban the involvement of the police force in political activities and introduce a merit-based system of transfers and postings. He said that the party would unveil a reform package aimed at bridging the trust deficit between the police and the people and making the former into a well-knit professional force able to secure the life and property of the people it is meant to serve under the law.

The PAT President regretted that the people, especially those belonging to the underprivileged background, don’t get their rights at the police stations. From registering FIRs to getting their copy, they have to undergo humiliation and injustice. He said that the relationship of the police with the public cannot improve without introducing fundamental reforms in the working of the department.