Sindh to move ahead with plan to amend Police Act 1861

The Sindh government will move ahead with its plan to amend the Police Act-1861 to make the provincial police more publicly accountable for its actions and to upgrade its organisational functioning to adopt modern technological advancements in policing, medico-legal affairs and criminal investigation.This was stated by Information Adviser to the CM Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday while talking to journalists after chairing the meeting of a high-powered committee constituted by the Sindh government to amend the said law.The Police Act-1861 in its original form is no more applicable in the year 2019 keeping in view the policing, law-enforcement and criminal investigation needs of the present day, said Wahab.He said there was an urgent need to amend the law to make it conform to the ground realities of policing in present day and to incorporate the concepts of greater transparency and accountability in the functioning of the police force.Wahab was of the opinion that the Police Act-1861 had no relevance with the situation and requirements of policing in the present day. To a question, the adviser said that the Sindh government was moving towards making such a law which would reorganise the police laws to strengthen the force and also to enable it to resolve its own problems. “The outdated police laws of the land would be updated in a manner that the aggrieved public would be given maximum convenience to get the FIR registered with the area police regarding any criminal activity they had encountered,” he said.According to him, under the proposed new police laws, policemen would face greater accountability through public forums for their actions as this would ensure maximum transparency in the working of the police force.Wahab said the concerned quarters should appreciate the steps being taken by the provincial government to improve and update the police laws as this would also protect the public’s interests regarding working of the police force. The Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sindh government had taken this step to further its resolve to ensure the supremacy of law and the Constitution to serve the masses, he said, adding that the government would continue such steps despite criticism for sake of criticism by the Opposition.Speaking about the meeting, Wahab said the committee had formed a sub-committee to further deliberate on the issue of amendments being incorporated in the police laws. The sub-committee will finalise and present its report within one week. Afterwards, the draft of the law to amend the Police Act-1861 would be finalised to be introduced in the Sindh Assembly for approval.Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh, Minister for Mines and Minerals Shabbir Ahmed Bijarani and Inspector General of Police Syed Kalim Imam attended the meeting.

from The News International - Karachi http://bit.ly/2RFtnKS