KARACHI, Jan 15: The Police Ordinance 2002 was a huge disappointment as it failed to bring any improvement in the police department’s working and people are still apprehensive while seeking help of the police, often found guilty of not registering an FIR.

Political expediency and vested interests have reduced the efficacy of the ordinance as it was amended many times. A key part of the ordinance was also the establishment of public safety commission, a watchdog body for police, which is still on papers even after lapse of four years.

These were some vital remarks made at the 14th Conference of Sociological Association of Pakistan, “Crime in Pakistan: causes and prevention,” held at the University of Karachi. The programme was organised by the PSA in collaboration with the department of sociology, criminology and population science, Anti-Narcotics Force, Sindh chapter, and Citizen Police Liaison Committee. The national moot of PSA was held after a long gap of over two decades.

There were a lot of expectations from the Police Ordinance 2002 that it would address public concerns regarding the police system, but nothing had changed. The whole ordinance, they said, had been politicised; its efficacy had been curtailed through amendments and the idea of public safety commissions was still elusive.

About the performance of CPLC, Sharafuddin Memon said the organisation had 70 per cent success rate in handling kidnapping for ransom cases. He said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority was not playing its role in cases of cellphone thefts; of which 25 per cent were taken away at gunpoint while 75 per cent were reported missing or stolen. He said the CPLC had also helped in cases of police excesses and domestic violence.

In his keynote address, Brigadier Faizul Karim Khan Burki, in-charge of ANF Sindh, said: “Narcotics barons are slowly eating away Pakistan. Inflation, loss of productivity and wastage of public money on counter measures, are some of the many consequences of narcotics trade. Prior to 1979 there wasn’t a single drug addict in Pakistan, but today there are four million. Of them 400,000 are heroin addicts. Eighty per cent of the drug addicts are under 35 years of age. Punjab takes the lead in the number of drug addicts,” he said. Ninety eight per cent cases registered with the ANF had met their logical ends, with offenders receiving severe punishments, he added.

Referring to a report, he said the adverse impact of poppy cultivation on environment was huge. It contributed to soil erosion and rendered land infertile.

In his inaugural address, KU Vice-Chancellor Dr Pirzada Qasim said a dangerous dimension that had been added to the social milieu was indifference. He urged students to come into the practical field and help rehabilitate those who want to come out of the vicious cycle of crime.

AIG Nayyar Hasnain Haider, Advocate Zia Awan and Dr Fateh M. Burfat also addressed the gathering.