Front desk set up at CPO to address women’s complaints

A front desk has been established at the Central Police Office (CPO) for the resolution of women-related issues and complaints by the Special Security Unit (SSU), Sindh Police.

The spokesman for the SSU said that on directives of Sindh IGP Dr Syed Kaleem Imam, DIG Operation Sindh Maqsood Ahmed and Commandant SSU Ghulam Murtaza Tabassum, Security Officer Muzaffar Iqbal chaired a meeting with a delegate from the Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) at the conference hall of the SSU.

SP Shahla Qureshi, SPO regional coordinator Raheema Panhwar and SSU officials, including female staff, were among the attendees.

Raheema Panhwar made a presentation outlining the efforts of the SPO in the establishment of The Sindh Commission on the Status of Women. She said that the SPO aimed to ensure that women were protected and able to access services developed under the recently promulgated pro-women laws.

It was decided in the meeting that with the approval of IGP Imam and DIG Operations Ahmed, a special complaint desk would be established at the Central Police Office or the Special Security Unit, (SSU) to receive complaints of women, especially related to domestic violence and harassment cases.

After complaints are received, a special team comprising competent women police officers would be dispatched to the concerned police station to resolve the case within a short period of time.

SSU Security Officer Muzaffar Iqbal briefed the delegation about the functioning of the various sections of the SSU and spoke of the measures adopted to set up the country’s first Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, advance professional training provided to commandos and issuance of an ISO certificate by the United Kingdom Accreditation System (UKAS) on maintaining international standards in the field of performing counterterrorism operations and the provision of foolproof security services to vital installations, and national and foreign dignitaries.

The delegation appreciated the SSU for maintaining high standards in the management, administration and counterterrorism operations and specifically applauded the efforts of the female police officers of the SSU for their professional standards.