LAHORE: The Punjab home department on Thursday moved a summary to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, seeking a go-ahead for the establishment of Provincial Public Safety and Complaints Commission and proposing amendment to the Police Order 2002 to set up the commissions at the district level in the province.

The summary has been initiated after the Punjab Assembly’s standing order to establish provincial and district public safety and complaints commissions that have been delayed for over two decades and left significant governance gaps.

The home department has also sought that it may be communicated names of the four treasury and two opposition MPAs for the provincial commission and activating the panel to select the commissions’ members.

The chief minister has also been requested to allow the process to amend the Rules of Business 2011 to empower provincial ministers on a par with the federal ministers. The federal ministers carry powers to run their respective ministries’ business, while in Punjab, the powers to run the respective departments’ affairs rest with the administrative secretaries. The Punjab law department will proceed to propose an amendment in the Rules of Business 2011.

Home secy says Police Order needs to be amended for setting up dist-level bodies

Following the Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan’s ruling, the 21-member standing committee gave a unanimous nod for the establishment of the provincial and district safety commissions within 15 days.

However, in the absence of a local government system, the government will be required to amend the Police Order 2002 as a stopgap arrangement to constitute District Public Safety and Complaints Commissions.

When contacted, Home Secretary Noorul Amin Mengal acknowledged that a summary had been initiated to the chief minister to take her on board on three matters – communication of names of six MPAs – four from treasury and two from opposition – for the provincial commission; amendment in the Police Order 2002; and constitution of a panel to select commissions’ members.

“In the absence of a local government system, the government would be required to amend the Police Order 2002 as a stopgap arrangement to form the District Public Safety and Complaints Commissions,” he said, explaining that it was necessary because the police order required local government representatives as district commissions’ members.

PTI MPA Ahmer Rasheed Bhatti, who had moved the question of privilege during the assembly proceedings, said the imbalance between the police’s operational independence and lack of accountability mechanisms had undermined public trust.

When quizzed about the police department’s claim of having its own internal accountability system, Mr Bhatti said the mechanism was so useless that most policemen get reinstated in subsequent appeals.

The Punjab Assembly’s law reforms committee has constituted a six-member sub-committee convened by MPA Amjad Ali Javed. The committee has five MPAs from treasury, besides PTI’s Ahmer Rashid Bhatti, being the mover of the question of privilege.

The committee has been tasked with monitoring the establishment of the provincial commission, identifying barriers to operationalising district commissions, as well as recommending actionable measures to the main committee.

The PA committee directed the provincial law department secretary to submit a comprehensive report and presentation on the status of implementation of the 18th Amendment and legal and administrative steps taken, or needed to be taken in the province, to realise its (amendment’s) full potential, and to “align the governance with democratic norms”.

Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2024