Board endorses recommendations for KP police

PESHAWAR: The Police Policy Board on Tuesday discussed the recommendations of the provincial cabinet committee constituted by chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for vetting and finalising the Police Act proposed by the force.
Inspector General of Police Nasir Khan Durrani chaired the meeting held at the Central Police Office here.Additional inspectors general of police, heads of all police units, deputy inspectors general of police and regional police officers attended the meeting.
The DIG Headquarters briefed the participants on the recommendations presented by the cabinet committee. The committee was formed at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak last month.
The draft law proposed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police has been designed to provide a police force that is linked with community, professional, apolitical and autonomous and is governed and run through transparent processes and most importantly is accountable to public institutions. It aims at improving public perception about police force and addressing the issues affecting its service delivery.
With Police Order 2002 as its basis, the proposed amendments put unprecedented emphasis upon accountability of police, both internal and external without affecting the operational autonomy of police command. The law envisages a police force that is both autonomous and accountable to public institutions instead of individuals.
The law provides effective external accountability through impartial, independent and experienced members of the civil society which will act as watchdogs for keeping a check on police processes and complaints of highhandedness.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police in its draft has proposed accountability of district police through District Councils, District Public Safety Commissions (DPSC), Regional Complaint Authority (RCA) and Provincial Public Safety Commission (PPSC).