SC’s police reform report: Centre, provinces lack will to implement Police Order 2002

ISLAMABAD: The Police Reforms report, referred to the center and provinces by the Supreme Court's Law Commission recently for consideration and implementation, has said that neither the federal nor provincial governments have shown political will to implement the Police Order 2002 nor have they begun to” tame their insatiable thirst” for unfettered political control over the police.

The report says that two of the provinces- Sindh and Balochistan- while taking a “retrogressive step” under “the cover of 18th Constitutional Amendment” have already repealed the Police Order 2002. The KP Assembly also passed its own version of Police Act 2017 while retaining the core principles of policing whereas Punjab too changed some key provisions of the Police Order 2002, raising the question if the provinces could do that. The report says that Article 184 of Police Order 2002 provides legislative competence to the provinces to amend, vary or modify any provision of the Police Order 2002 on the basis of their specific requirements and circumstances, subject to approval of the prime minister, not the competence to repeal any provision of the Police Order.

Regarding the present status of Police Order 2002, the report said, “Taking a retrograde step, the Sindh and Balochistan governments repealed the Police Order under Sindh (Repeal of the Police Order 2002 and Revival of the Police Act 1861) Act 2011, and the Balochistan Police Act No. X of 2011. Ostensibly this was done under the cover of the 18th Constitutional Amendment.” The report says that the KP Assembly, on 24th January 2017, also passed its own version of Police Act 2017. “Though largely based on the core policing principles set out in the Police Order 2002, the KP Police Act 2017 introduced a novel legislative scheme that distinguishes between Provincial Legislative Field and Federal Legislative Field, without actually giving a precise definition what each Field meant. As for as Punjab is concerned, according to the Law Commission’s report on Police Reform, it is the only province that has retained the Police Order, with amendments. However, the constitutionality of repeal of Article 184 of the Police Order 2002, vide the Punjab Police Order 2002 (Amendment) Act 2013, is yet to be tested.

In regard to federal government, the report lamented, “Oddly enough, the federal government has, since 2015, continued to dilly-dally in bringing into force the Police Order 2002 in the federal capital. Under Article 1(3) of Police Order 2002, it is mandatory for the federal government to enforce the Police Order 2002 from the day the local governments are established in Islamabad Capital Territory.” The report says, “Without prejudice to the final determination of the constitutional status of the Police Order 2002, the federal and provincial governments have not shown political will to implement Police Order 2002 in letter and spirit. Nor have they begun to tame their insatiable thirst for unfettered political control over the police. The recent judicial pronouncements declaring autonomy of police command and independence of policing operations as necessary conditions for fair and effective enforcement of fundamental rights are indeed a rude shock to the vested interests opposed to rule of law and good governance.”

Regarding the 18th Amendment and its effect on Police Order 2002, the report said, “The Eighteenth Amendment has had no adverse effect on the concurrent status of the Police Order 2002. If anything, the relevant new entries in the Federal Legislative List (Part I) actually strengthened the status of the Police Order 2002 as a Federal Law.”

The report advocates for one policing system across the country and says, “Without uniform and updated criminal laws: penal, procedural, evidential and police-related, it is well-nigh impossible to achieve effectiveness and efficiency across an increasingly fragmented criminal justice system. Pakistan has long suffered due to variety of criminal justice systems in vogue in its different parts, specifically Fata, Pata, B Area of Balochistan, and tribal area of district Rajanpur (Punjab)……” It adds, “It is internationally recognised that the way forward to fight exceptional terrorism and organised crime challenges through fair, effective and accountable criminal justice system operating under standard criminal law statutes and procedures, not through fragmented structures anchored on variety of different laws.”