Witness Protection Rule to take effect by ‘year-end’

A senior officer with extensive experience to be hired as a consultant for complete implementation of the Witness Protection Programme

The Witness Protection Rule has been partially implemented throughout Sindh, including Karachi, and it will be completely implemented by the end of the year, sources in the Sindh government told The News.

Moreover, a recent meeting at the Chief Minister House discussed appointing a senior officer with extensive experience as a consultant for complete implementation of the Witness Protection Programme (WPP).

Considering protection of witnesses as well as speedy and fair trial of cases, the provincial government had appointed Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Sindh chief AIG Sanaullah Abbasi to head the WPP after formulating a law called the Witness Protection Rule.

These rules may be called the Sindh Witness Protection Rule 2016 and shall come into force at once. Under these rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or content, a chief witness protection officer is the person nominated for the designation through the act. For the purpose of the act, any such person admitted to the programme shall be known as a “witness”.

A senior official said that any person who has witnessed or has knowledge or information on the commission of a crime and has testified or is testifying or about to testify before any judicial or quasi-judicial body or before any investigating authority may be admitted into the programme.

The offence in which his testimony will be used is a crime or its equivalent under special laws; his testimony can be substantially corroborated in its material points; he or any member of his family within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity is subjected to threats to his life or bodily injury or there is a likelihood that he will be killed, forced, intimidated, harassed or corrupted to prevent him from testifying or to testify falsely or evasively because or on account of his testimony; and he is not a law enforcement officer, even if he would be testifying against other law enforcement officers.

A meeting of the advisory board regarding implementation of the Sindh Witness Protection Programme was recently held in the committee room of the home department for a detailed discussion of the programme.

Government sources said the agenda of the meeting was approval of Witness Protection Rules, approval of SNE (New) Witness Protection Programme, allocation of funds, posting of Witness Protection Unit (WPU) deputy director and approval of recruitment policy.

The participants were the home secretary, IG prisons, CTD’s Abbasi, Sindh Prosecutor General Shahadat Awan, the law secretary and others.

Sources said that at the outset, the chair informed the participants about the objective of the meeting and that the enactment of the Sindh Witness Protection Act 2013 by the provincial legislature was a milestone in the criminal justice system and it would play an important role in bringing forward the necessary evidence in high-profile cases.

He apprised the meeting that the WPU was established by the Sindh government and AIG Abbasi was notified as the chief witness protection officer.

Abbasi briefed the meeting that until the recruitment and posting of district witness protection officers and assistant witness protection officers, all the districts SSPs and senior-most DSPs were assigned the additional charges respectively. He said instructions were also issued to all district witness protection officers and assistant witness protection officers to perform such functions and carry out such duties as assigned to them by the government. He added that the programme was initially started within the existing resources, but a detailed SNE (sanctioned new establishment) with cost estimates would be submitted shortly.

The AIG also informed the meeting that he had an insightful meeting with Saleem Wahidi, who was working with the United Nation as chief protection officer for international tribunals. He hoped that another meeting with Wahidi would be held to gain some clarity regarding the modus operandi to be followed for withholding the identity of witnesses and their relocation.

Prosecutor General Awan pointed out that there was a need for amendments in other laws to achieve the purpose. He also apprised the meeting that some offences needed to be defined clearly so as to decide in which cases the witnesses needed protection. He proposed that the CTD could come up with elaborate draft rules and amendments in other laws.

AIG Abbasi expressed concern that there was lack of capacity as far as framing the all-inclusive and elaborate rules with amendments in all related laws was concerned. He, therefore, proposed that a consultant be hired.

Sources said that after detailed deliberation on each issue, some decisions were taken: the consultant for drafting rules and amendments in laws would be hired by the office of the chief witness protection office under the Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Rules after completing all codal formalities, and detailed terms of reference would be framed for the work of the consultant.

They said AIG Abbasi would submit a request to the home department for provision of funds for hiring a consultant, and the department would present the utilisation report of funds previously released for the WPP in the next meeting of the advisory board.

The programme will be kick-started with a pilot activity through provision of facilities under the programme to one or two material and main witnesses in a high-profile case to be selected by Abbasi, they added.

Sources said instructions had been issued to all Karachi and interior Sindh officers who were appointed as district witness protection officers for the time being, adding that the police were initially providing physical protection to witnesses, and this protection also consisted of law enforcers, including investigating officers who were witnesses in high-profile cases.