AD Khowaja expresses reservations on new draft law

Sindh Inspector-General of Police Allah Dino Khowaja has expressed reservations over a proposed law that is viewed as curtailing the functional autonomy of the police department and arming the provincial government with powers to control the affairs of the department.

In a letter addressed to the provincial law secretary, the IG, while acknowledging the receipt of the draft law, has suggested that any decision in this regard should be deferred until the Supreme Court (SC) issues a detailed order regarding the police rules.

The IG also requested the Sindh government to reconsider the draft law in light of his proposals so that the new law could reinforce the institutional, legal, structural and administrative foundations of the police force, making it a source of providing protection to the fundamental rights of the citizens as well as ensuring the establishment of law and order in society as a whole.
IG Khowaja wrote that he had gone through the contents of the draft law and had also held consultative meetings with senior officers of the Sindh police so that he could present a comprehensive view regarding the proposed legislation.
“As the Sindh IG, it is my view that police is one of the most important civil institutions, given the fact that it is saddled with the performance of functions [such as] inquiry, investigation, detection and prevention of crimes [that] are critical to the success or failure of the criminal justice system,” read the letter. “The role and performance of the police are also pivotal to the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights, particularly the right to life, property and honour, as envisaged in the articles 4, 9 and 14 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”

The IG recalled that the Sindh High Court (SHC) took up constitutional petitions regarding the role of police and after exhaustive judicial proceedings passed a historic judgment, which was subsequently upheld by the SC through a short order in which the apex court maintained that the Sindh Assembly could pass a new police law in line with the SHC judgment. According to the communiqué, the government did not file any review petition with the SC, therefore, the aforesaid judgment had become binding.

“Before [speaking] upon the spirit and direction of the aforementioned judgment, I must respectfully state that the detailed order of the apex court is still awaited,” the IG wrote to the provincial government. He suggested that the proposed legislation be delayed until the detailed order is issued by the SC so that any conflict with the judgment could be avoided.

Delaying the proposed legislation until the apex court has released the detailed judgment is also imperative in order to benefit from the jurisprudential wisdom of the apex court in matters related to the reinforcement of police as an institution for the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights, IG Khowaja wrote.

According to the IG, the proposed law would have a serious bearing on the fundamental rights of people at large. He further suggested to the government that the draft be made public in order to seek inputs from all stakeholders, including lawyers, academics, rights activists, and incumbent and retired civil servants including police officers.

“It is, therefore, requested that the government of Sindh may reconsider the draft law in light of my submissions so that the new law should reinforce the institutional, legal, structural and administrative foundations of police force,” the IG wrote.