KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has observed that it is the main responsibility of the provincial government to maintain law and order in Sindh, but due to insufficient deployment and improper recruitment, law enforcement has been hindered and politicised in the province, something which now needs to be curbed by the police chief.

The SHC also noted that the Special Security Unit (SSU) was initially intended for public safety, but was currently being used primarily for the VVIP security.

On Wednesday, a two-judge bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Adnan-Ul-Karim Memon directed the inspector general of Sindh police to remove all “corrupt” police officers involved in illegal activities.

The IGP was also asked to remove SSU commandos from VVIP security duties (except foreign dignitaries & embassies) and deploy them for public safety in Sindh.

Orders him to remove SSU commandos from VVIP security and post them on public safety duties

It also asked the Sindh police chief to implement a transparent and merit-based recruitment process to eliminate political influence and nepotism, provide a comprehensive training to all police personnel in order to enhance their skills and capabilities.

The bench was hearing a petition seeking quashment of an FIR against a couple and in the light of the last order, a special secretary of the Sindh home department filed a compliance report to explain various investigation mechanisms of police in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.

The court noted that apparently, the Sindh police had initiated steps to separate investigation from watch and ward duties as ordered by the court.

However, the bench emphasised the importance of modern investigation techniques and need for well-trained law graduate investigators in the entire Sindh to investigate crimes at their respective police stations.

“The provincial government is primarily responsible for maintaining the law and order situation in the province of Sindh. However, due to insufficient force deployment and improper recruitment, law enforcement is hindered and has been politicised from time to time which practice needs to be curbed and IGP Sindh shall ensure their emancipation from political hierarchy”, it added.

The court further observed that the police were responsible for protecting citizens and responding to their complaints, but they often delay or avoid registering FIRs especially in cases against influential individuals and to address this issue, the Supreme Court had outlined a mechanism for FIR registration as detailed in the Haider Ali case reported in 2015 SCMR 1724.

It noted that often due to poor investigation, real culprits were acquitted along with innocent individuals and this failure of the police contributed to the persistence of crime in society at large.

It said: “The IGP should establish criteria for FIR registration based on Supreme Court guidelines. Corrupt officers involved in criminal activities, false FIRs, illegal confinement, drug/gambling connections, and leaking information should be removed from service by adopting proper proceedings and they shall face legal/criminal action”.

The SHC also noted that around 40,000 absconders were at large in Sindh and the police had failed to apprehend them while the IG had identified 275 outlaws with a total bounty of Rs580 million and directed the home secretary to initiate the process of transferring these funds to a separate Sindh police account with a compliance report to be submitted within a month.

The court further asked the government to ensure that the district public safety & police complaint commissions must meet regularly under the command of the IG and submit monthly progress reports to the member inspection team of the SHC for monitoring and evaluation.

“This court orders the Sindh Police to improve law and order by deploying SSU for public safety, reforming recruitment and addressing corruption, establishing a separate investigation wing as directed, following FIR registration guidelines, apprehending absconders and outlaws, activating district committees. The IGP and Home Secretary must submit quarterly progress reports”, it concluded.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024