ISLAMABAD  -  Caretaker Prime Minis­ter Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Saturday lauded the contributions and sacri­fices of the police force in maintaining law and order in the country and stressed upon the need of change in atti­tude to improve the im­age of the force. 

He was addressing the 7th annual confer­ence of former Inspec­tor Generals of Po­lice (AFIGP) who had served the police force for decades. The annual event was organized by the Association of For­mer Inspectors General of Police (AFIGP). 

The prime minis­ter while expressing his deep appreciation for the police force for maintaining internal order, said that it was a sacrosanct duty and no society could afford chaos as anarchy was unacceptable. 

He said that the police force was the custodian to protect them from that anarchy and had been serv­ing as the frontline force from sepoy to officer to protect the society. While referring to the functioning of the force, the caretaker prime minister sug­gested that they required deep introspection as to how to fur­ther improve the situation and the image of the force. “Chang­es can come with change in atti­tude and not by mere changing the uniform,” he opined. Ap­preciating the sacrifices of po­lice force, the prime minister said that they owed a lot for this force and particularly referred to the sacrifices of Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa and Balochistan police besides other provinces. 

Recollecting the sacrifice of Shaheed Commandant FC and IGP KP Safwat Ghayur, he said that he had hardly seen an icon­ic figure like Safwat in the coun­try. “If he had been alive, he would have been my leader and I would have been his follower,” he added. The prime minister observed that two noble pro­fessions in the country were mistreated including nursing and police, adding that they needed to rebrand them by providing resources and infus­ing confidence in them. That brand was more important in­dicating that self-esteem asso­ciated for doing any sort of job was significant, he added. 

He said the police force cleaned the filth and dirt from society and were the chosen and noble ones as they were protecting their children. 

The prime minister said that they needed to address the is­sues which led to issues of mis­treatment of the police force. 

He narrated the issues faced by two families of martyred police officials who had ap­proached him and regretted that they were not treated in the manner they deserved and also cited Shabana, a police person­nel martyred in Swat. 

The caretaker prime minister also emphasized upon the need to understand the local chal­lenges and discourse over the effective legal framework. 

He said about 90,000 people had been killed in the country in the fight against terrorism and highlighted the importance of effective legislation to count­er the security issues. 

The prime minister said that with a state of confusion, you ought to falter and fail and clar­ity in carrying out any business was important. The prime min­ister also suggested strength­ening of institutional bondage within the police force and fur­ther increasing of welfare pro­grammes for the police force. 

Earlier, former IGP Kaleem Imam said that the association was formed in 2015 with 250 members. A total of 7800 per­sonnel laid down their lives for the peace and security of the country. About 15 allied depart­ments of the police force were serving the people, he added. 

Other speakers said that rap­id changes of security posed a challenge for the police force. Terrorism was posing an exis­tential threat which should be countered by utilizing the latest technological gadgets.

Govt to promote, safeguard human rights

Caretaker Prime Minister An­waar-ul-Haq Kakar has said that the Government of Paki­stan would continue its efforts to promote and safeguard hu­man rights, both domestically and internationally. 

He reiterated Pakistan’s un­flinching resolve to further ad­vance respect for and protec­tion of the rights and freedoms of all our citizens as enshrined in the Constitution as well as in the Universal Declaration of Hu­man Rights. “Pakistan has con­sistently demonstrated its com­mitment to this cause, evident through various initiatives and policies aimed at protecting the dignity and rights of its cit­izens,” the caretaker prime min­ister said in a message on the occasion of International Hu­man Rights Day being observed on December 10. The prime minister said that this year’s theme “Freedom, Equality and Justice for All” was very apt and relevant. Pakistan joined the in­ternational community in com­memorating the 75th anni­versary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Hu­man Rights. The historic decla­ration enshrined the inalienable rights to which all individuals were entitled - regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, lan­guage, political or other opin­ion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. 

The prime minister said that some key initiatives taken by the government of Pakistan in­cluded ratification of core hu­man rights conventions, incor­poration of fundamental rights in the constitution of Pakistan, enactment of human rights laws and establishment of institu­tions for prevention and protec­tion of rights. Special laws have been enacted for the protection of the rights of vulnerable pop­ulation including women, chil­dren, minorities, persons with disabilities, senior citizens and transgenders, he added. 

To ensure implementation of these laws, the prime minister said the government had estab­lished the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) with the power to take cognizance of the violation of human rights, the National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW) with the mandate to inquire into vi­olations of women rights, and the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) with the mandate to take all necessary measures for protection of child rights including inquiry into cases of violation. 

The Family Protection and Re­habilitation Centre in Islamabad provided temporary shelter and psycho-social counseling to vic­tims of violence, he said, add­ing similarly, the establishment of Zainab Alert Response & Re­covery Authority (ZARRA) and Transgender Protection Center, Islamabad were also important human rights related initiatives of the government. 

The caretaker prime minister said despite visible progress in the field of human rights, sever­al challenges remain in achiev­ing the desired milestones. 

In this regard, collaborative ef­forts, both at the national and international level, were vital to address the complexities in­volved in dealing with issues re­lated to human rights, he further stressed. Prime Minister Ka­kar said Pakistan also remained deeply concerned by the status of human rights in other parts of the world. “In South Asia, India is violating all norms and con­ventions of human rights in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The illegal actions of 5 August 2019, aimed at demographic change and dis­enfranchising the Kashmiris from exercising their right to self-determination have further aggravated the scale of oppres­sion and suppression of Kashmi­ri people’s basic rights, identity and fundamental freedoms,” PM Office Media Wing, in a press re­lease, quoted the prime minister as saying. He said Pakistan re­iterated its call for ending egre­gious human rights abuses in IIOJK and reaffirmed to continue moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiri people in their just struggle against In­dia’s tyranny, occupation and op­pression. “We urge the interna­tional community to press India to grant Kashmiris their funda­mental rights including the right to self-determination as en­shrined in the UN Security Coun­cil resolutions,” he reiterated.