RAWALPINDI: After an overwhelming majority of the police disliked their new olive green uniform, the provincial government has decided to switch back to the old uniform from the next financial year but with minor changes.

A senior police official told Dawn that the new olive green uniforms have already been purchased and are to be distributed among the police in Jan 2019 but the police are to revert to the old khaki trouser and black shirt in July 2019.

A few months after the new olive green uniform was introduced, a survey was conducted during which a vast majority of the police officials in the four districts in Rawalpindi division disliked the new uniform and wanted to switch back to the old one.

A debate had started in the police circle after the new dark olive green uniform was introduced in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Sheikhupura and Faisalabad regions.

Then Inspector General of Police Punjab Arif Nawaz Khan had decided to get the opinion of police officials and constituted a committee for conducting the survey.

The majority of police officials disliked the uniform and said wearing it was a “miserable” experience, especially in the summer. Each officer was given two sets of uniform which has faded and has undergone wear and tear in under a year due to its low quality.

Previously, every police official was given three pairs of the old black and khaki uniform every year but are given two pairs of the new one since Aug 2017.

Police officials say they cannot even replace their damaged uniforms because they cannot find similar cloth in the market. They could make uniforms from their own pocket when the old uniform was used due to the easy availability of the fabric.

When a police official related to the distribution of the new uniform was contacted, he told Dawn that since the new uniform was introduced, the standard operating procedure has also been changed.

However, he said, the Central Police Office Lahore has been intimated that the police will be able to get new pairs of the olive green uniform by the start of next year.

All police officers were given two uniform kits consisting of two pairs of trousers, two shirts, two round neck shirts, a belt and badges but were asked to use the shoes that came with the old uniform because of a pair of black shoes is given once in three years time.

The women police were also given the two kits of the same olive green uniform, since it had been introduced in the police.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2018