REVIEWOFHUMANRIGHTSVol.1,No.1,Winter2015,42-56http://eoi.citefactor.org/10.11223/1.1/5

E-Governance,PoliceReforms,andHumanRightsin

Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa,Pakistan

FasihuddinandSyedAliRazaZaidi*

IntroductionInthefederalsystemofPakistan,policeisaprovincialsubject.Itisaprovincial subject partly because the law and order is theresponsibility of provinces. Police comes under the HomeDepartmentofeachprovincialgovernment.Thefederalgovernment,however, has jurisdiction over matters such as the enactment ofcriminal laws, the training of certain categories of criminal justicepersonnel, and research, apart from the direct law and orderresponsibilityithasforthefederallycontrolledterritories.1Thelawthat runs the police in Pakistanwas designed and enacted inmid-nineteenth century by the British colonial administration in India.Thislawhassurvivedformorethanoneandhalfcentury.Itwasonlyrecently reformed in 2002, even thoughmuchof thepolice systemstillreliesonthisoldlaw,andtherulesmadeunderit.2

The administrative structure and the law governing police inPakistanwere inherited from the colonial Raj in India. An actwas

* Fasihuddin is a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Email: fasih68@hotmail.com; Syed Ali Raza Zaidi is alecturer at Islamabad Model College, F-10/4, Islamabad. Email:syedalizaidi110@yahoo.comISSN(Print):2520-7024;ISSN(Online):2520-7032.www.reviewhumanrights.com;

AbstractTheKhyber-Pakhtunkhwagovernmentisabouttopassalegislation(PoliceBill2016)toreplacethecolonialpolicelaw.Moreover,theprovincialpoliceadministration has already taken certain measures to introduce moderninformationtechnologyinthepolicingsystem.Thesemeasuresweretakeninthelargerbackdropofprovincialgovernment’sinterestinintroducinge-governanceintheprovince.Inthisarticlewediscussthesemeasureswithafocusonwhetherthepoliceperformanceandhumanrightsconditionshaveimprovedwiththem.

KeyWords:e-FIR,e-governance,humanrights,Police,Pakistan.

REVIEWOFHUMANRIGHTS 43passedbythecolonialadministrationin1861forthispurposeanditremained in force until 2002. The act provided a rigid structure,mostly hierarchical in nature and was based on command andcontrolsystem:atthetopwastheInspectorGeneralofPolice(IGP)inaprovince,underhimwastheDeputyInspectorGeneralofPolice(DIG)inaregionorrange,whowasassistedbytheSuperintendentof Police (SP) in a district. Belowhimwas theDeputy or AssistantSuperintendent of Police who commanded a sub-division or tehsil(sub-district). Below themwas a Station House Officer (SHO) whowas inchargeofapolicestation,mostly intherankof Inspectororsub-inspector. In 2002 the new Police Order changedtitles/designationsoftheofficers,eventhoughmuchofthehierarchyremainedthesame.TheOrderhas,however,separatedinvestigationfrom prevention or watch and ward. In 2005 the ProsecutionOrdinanceseparatedprosecutionfrominvestigationandmadeitanindependent department. The reforms of 2002 were a part of thegrandreformsagendaofGeneralPervezMusharraf’sgovernment.3

Althoughpolice isaprovincial subject, it is interesting toknowthat police officers are recruited from both the center and theprovinces.ThosewhocomedirectlyfromthecentermakethecadrecalledthePoliceServiceofPakistan(PSP).Theyarerecruitedafteracompetitiveexaminationsystemcalled theCentralSuperiorService(CSS) examination conducted every year by the Federal PublicService Commission (FPSC). This examination is based on merit,suitability,quota,andavailabilityofseats.Prior to thePoliceOrder2002andtheproposedPoliceAct(2016),thePoliceChiefcalledtheIGP (now called Provincial Police Officer, PPO) in the province ofKhyber-Pakhtunkwa (KPK) was answerable to the Secretary ofHomeDepartment.Nowheishimselftheex-officioSecretarytotheprovincial government. The proposed Act (2016) made the policerelatively more independent of the executive’s control than everbefore.

ThebasicfunctionsofpoliceinKPK(andingeneralinPakistan)are three: prevention of crime (prevention), detection of criminals(investigation), andsubmittingevidence to thecourt (prosecution).Apartfromthesethreefunctions,thepoliceinKPKrenderanumberofsocialandwelfareactivitiesaswell.Theylookaftertraffic,engagein resolution of petty social issues through the alternative disputeresolution (ADR) under the newly established Dispute ResolutionCouncils (DRCs), supervise academic examinations, protect publicrallies,makedifferentkindsof license,andmaintainrecordofbirthand death in areas divided according to their jurisdiction in policestations.

InthePoliceOrder2002,aswellasinthenewPoliceBill(2016),a detailed account of the duties and responsibilities, aswell as the

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attitude of the police towards the public, are given. For instance,Article3saysthatitshallbetheresponsibilityofeveryPoliceofficertobehavewithdecorumandcourtesy,respectanddignity,aswellasendeavortopromotepeaceandamityinthesociety.Apoliceofficershouldhelp,assist,andguidethepeopleinneedofspecialassistanceand secure them from damage and harm, especially the poor,minorities,children,womenandelderly.Theduties,inthislonglist,basicallyare thateveryofficerwillperformhis/herduty toprotectlife, property, honor and liberty of citizens. In Article 4 there areabouttwenty-threedutiesprescribedforaPoliceofficertoperform.Theseduties relate to his/her role in prevention, investigation andprosecution.Inotherwords,thesedutiesarefocusedonmaintaininglaw and order, prevention of offences and apprehension of thecriminal/offenders,andhencemaintainingpeaceandsecurityintheprovince.

The police of KPK normally has not been happy with theavailable strength and budget. It has often demanded for morerecruitmentandfunds.Inthisregard,theprovincialgovernmenthasprovided more resources only when grievous terrorist attackshappened. For example, the police strength was increased from48,655(2008)to74,000(2011).Ingeneralthemajorportionofthetotal police budget goes to establishment and management cost(80%), i.e. salaries and allowances of the force and only a little(20%)is left forthequalitativeimprovement,capacitybuildingandprofessionalcompetence.4

I.TheNeedforReformsandE-GovernanceinKPK1. POLITICIZATION OF CRIMES AND CRIMINALIZATION OF THE

POLICEANDPOLITICSApolicestationoftenfacespoliticalinfluenceindifferentforms.Forinstance,politicians regularly influence toppolicebrass inorder toget fromthemposting/appointmentofstationhouseofficers(SHO)and police-station clerks (Muharir) in police station (PS) of theirchoice. Inthiswaytheseniorpoliceofficers lookafter the interestsof their political patrons who in turn grant them other favors.Secondly, such patrons provide logistic and financial kickbacks toSHOsandtheirimmediateseniorstowinthemover.

It should be noticed that certain crimes also involve financialrewards, e.g., gambling, business in stolen/non-Custom-Paid (NCP)vehicles,drugs(narcotics),andsmugglingofcontrabanditems(likecloth, chemicals, etc.). Normally influential and resourceful peopleare involved in such illegal activities who are ready to dole outmoney.Harboringcriminalsandabscondersisalsonotpossibleforacommonman.Onlyinfluentialpersonalitiesinanareaareconnectedwithgangsfortheirownbenefits.ThiscanalsoresultintheCrime-

REVIEWOFHUMANRIGHTS 45Terror-Continuum (CTC), a model/theory developed by TimaraMakarenko where the influential criminals providesponsorship/moneytoterroriststobuytheirservicesforcrimeslikedrug pushing, human trafficking or kidnapping.5 This situation hasgivenrisetothecriminalizationofpoliceandpoliticsinPakistanasinfluential people believe that they cannot sustain their influenceandpoliticswithoutassistance fromthepolice.Thus the influentialpeopleprovidemoney,men,andmaterials(3Ms)fortheirelectionsand party-offices. The gangsters do commit crimes against thepolitical opponents of their sponsors. This becomes a kind ofmarriage of convenience, a kind of complementing and symbioticrelationship—a quid pro quo, the give and take, a crime-terrorcontinuum.Thepolicecultureisthuspollutedwithundueinfluence,malpracticesandcorruption.Onecriticalexampleofaninstitutionalmalpractice was that of Federal Service Force (FSF), which wasespecially raised by Z.A Bhutto in order to target and tarnish hispoliticalopponents.Thisforcewasblamedforunethicaluseofforceand torture. Gen. Zia dismantled it and the officers were eitherdismissedorsentoffintothefarflungareasofBalochistan.

The legally authorized Central Investigation Department (CID)was firstusedforpoliticalpurposesbytheBritish incolonial timesinorder tokeepavigilanteyeontheirpoliticaldissidents/activistsin the British Raj. Latter the practice was carried out by Pakistanipoliticiansafterindependence.ThebasicfunctionoftheCIDandtheSpecial Branch (SB) was to keep an eye on potential criminality,whichwasthusreducedtochasingthepoliticalopponents.Stillitisdone by more powerful agencies as CID and SB are no more thatmuch effective. Also, the CID’s role is now taken over by the CTD,which is more concerned with terrorism than political opponents.However, in thenewPoliceBill 2016, somemodicumof sanctity isgiven to the tenure of officers and a process of de-politicization ofpolicehasbeenstartedwhichisgivingfruits.

II.Election(2013),NewGovernment,andtheIntroductionofE-GovernanceinKPK

Thegeneralelectionin2013wasabig‘leap-forward’intermsofelectionslogansandpartymanifestointhecountry,especiallyintheKPK, wherein the public was already tired of the slogans of‘Islamization’ of religious parties and of ‘nationalism’ of traditionalPashtun parties. People demanded ‘change’ and this slogan wasexploitedtothebestbyanewpoliticalpartyofacricketstarturnedpolitician, and his speeches and roaring oratorymade the slogan arealityintheelectionof2013.HispartythePakistanTahreek-e-Insaf(PTI) termed the kind of change they promised as ‘Tsunami.’Although a negative term, the party used this term to represent

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change, which would mean efforts to streamline the affairs of thegovernmentensuring‘accountability.’Thebuzzwordfortheelectionmanifesto of thePTIwas accountability. But how to realize changewith stability is the real task, no doubt a gigantic task, which hadneverbeensuccessfullyattemptedduetoanumberofuncontrolledvariables.

TheKPgovernmentaftercomingtoofficeannouncedanumberofrevolutionarymeasures.Thesemeasuresweremostlyfocusedonbasic demands of the public, for instance, relating to health,education,andlocalgovernment.Somemeasureswerealsofocusedon complaints of complacency relating to the role of patwari (therecord-keeper and field-officer of revenue/land/properties in anareaof jurisdiction,calledHalqa, literallymeaningcircle) fortakingbribes and tampering record, and the role of the Station HouseOfficer (SHO), for his non-action delaying tactics in dealing withcrimes and criminals in an area, called Police-Station (PS). ThepopulistgovernmentofPTItooktheoccasiontochangetheroleandbehavior ofPatwaris and SHOs. The land revenue recordwas untilmaintained manually and its tampering was not a big deal for aPatwari. Itwas announced that the systemwouldbe computerizedand digitalized, so that easy access and verifiable accounts weremade in termsofmutations (intiqalaat) and transfer feeswerenotconcealed. Though this laborious change has been resisted by thetraditional Patwaris, Gardawers (an officer immediately above apatwari) and status-quopreachers likeTehsildar (a revenueofficerfor a sub-division) and revenue/state officers of the Board ofRevenue.Becauseofnon-professionalism, lackof computer literacyandoppositionoftraditionalstakeholders,thiscomputerizationhasnot beenmade into practice, hence no public relief is given in thisrespect; rather the public are confronted with difficulty in gettingcopies of mutations as all record has been sent for centralizedcomputerization.Thisisthedividendofchangeforgeneralpublic.Inhospitals and schools, the same status-quo mafia has resisted thevarioussupervisoryandmonitoringroleof thethird-party,asmostof these initiatives have been out-sourced for want of non-availabilityof technicalknow-how,andexperts in therelative field.ThedoctorsandteacherswouldnotliketobetestedfortheirarrivalfordutiesthroughBiometricwheremachineswilltelltheentryandexittime.

III.HowFarPoliceisReadytoAcceptE-Governance?Police is themost rigid, introvert, and static organization of all thegovernment departments. But luckily, in the KPK the Policeleadership welcomed the change and announced its vision of‘Policing with Passion’ having following elements: namely,

REVIEWOFHUMANRIGHTS 47outsourcing the recruitment and somewhat training to the thirdparty and giving birth to a paperless policing or policing bytechnology. For this purpose, themanualwork of recruitmentwasgiventoNationalTestingService(NTS)andEducationalTestingandEvalution Agency (ETEA) and multiple-choice questions wereintroduced in selection of candidates for various professionalexaminations and all results were computer-generated which isautomatic.Theinvestigationbranchwassubjectedtoanewsystem,called InvestigationManagement System (IMS),where the FIRwasdigitalizedandall theprocessesofan investigationwereconnectedto a central system. Entriesmade in a remote district can now beeasily seen, checked and commented uponby a senior supervisoryofficer in CPO Peshawar. The connectivity was achieved afterprovisions of all gadgets and software/hardware to district offices,andanITcoursewasinitiatedforalllowersubordinatesforamonthorso,attimesmandatory,whereprofessionalandskillfuloperatorsaredoingtheneedful.Adialogue isunderwaywiththeUNODCandUNDP to develop this system for theKPKpolice and provide themwithnecessarytrainingandtechnologicaltools.

Thecriminalrecordofallabscondersandproclaimedoffenders(POs)isalsobeingdigitalizedandsmartphonesarebeingprovidedfor crime scene preservation for trace-evidence. The ForensicScience Laboratory (FSL) is being upgraded in Peshawar and newone is being established in Swatwith the help ofUN agencies. ThePoliceAssistanceLines(PAL)andthePoliceAccessService(PAS)areintroduced for quick resolution of public complaints and police iseasily accessible now on SMS, email, and especially the whatsapapplicationwhereinvideos,picturesandmessagesareshared.

Fig 1. “Police Access Service (PAS).” 2015. Khyber-PakhtunkhwaPolice,Peshawar.

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Thetopleadershipisnownotunawareoftheworkingofthe lowersubordinates.Inthemuch-detaileduseofscrutiny,criminalprofilesareproperlyassessedandresearchedelectronicallyandreportsareautomatically generated on various indicators. Complaints can belodgedonlineorsentonSMS/WhatsApptoconcernedofficeroreventhetoppolicechief.Thisisanexampleofe-policingintheKPwhichhassetagoodexamplesofar.Separatedesksforalltheirprocessesareset-upattheCPO.

IV.E-FIRasPartofE-GovernanceinKPK

a.WHATISANFIR?TheFirstInformationReport(FIR)isthefirstRegister(RegisterNo.1)inthepolicecriminalrecordofaPolice-Station,whichcontains25Registers (in parts, a total of 50 Registers are there in a Police-Station). FIRs are recorded on the Register No.1. An FIR is a legaldocumentandthereportofacomplainant is lodged inthisregisterundersection154oftheCriminalProcedureCode(CrPC)(1898).b.LIFEOFANFIROutofalldocumentsinaPoliceStation,theFIRisthe‘longestliving’document. The Register No. II (Daily Dairy) in Urdu also called“ROZNAMCHA” is maintained for two years, after which it isdestroyed, but an FIR register is maintained to 60 years at theminimumandincertaincasesupto100years.c.LEGALITYOFANFIROut of the 25Registers of a Police Station, onlyRegisterNo. 1 andRegister No. 2 (Daily Dairy) are the legal documents. By this wemeanthattheoriginalorattestedcopiesofthetwoareadmissibleinacompetentcourtandtheyarepartofthePoliceFile(Policemisal)and JudicialFile (Judicialmisal); it is thebasisofa report inwhichthe commission of an offence is reported and the “investigation” isstarted after lodging an FIR in a Police-Station. Without an FIRRegistration,noinvestigationcanstart;incaseofDailyDairyReport(which ismade in case of a non-cognizable offence or a suspiciousreport about a commission), “Enquiry” is conducted under section156CrPC(3)or550or157(CrPC),whichmayresult intoanFIR ifthecommissionisestablished.

An FIR is ‘Registered/Lodged’ under section 154 CrPC. Whenthere is ‘credible information’ about the commission of an offence.Thereportofacomplainantisreducedintowriting,readouttothecomplainant,gotsignedbythecomplainant(ortestifiedwiththumbimpression) and then attested by the Station House Officer (SHO),and assigned to the concernedofficer for investigation. It is a legalrightofacitizenthathisreportofacomplaintaboutthecommissionofanoffenceistobetaken.AfterregistrationofanFIR,acascadeofevents start: arrest is made, recovery of weapons/trace or stolen

REVIEWOFHUMANRIGHTS 49property is carried out, evidence collection is recorded, witnessesare consulted and confronted and their statements are recorded,identificationparadeofanaccusedisdoneundercertainprocedure,and forensic/medical reports are obtained, if required, and finallyChallan(FinalReport)issubmittedunderSection173ofCrPCinthecourt of law for prosecution, which may lead to conviction(punishment)orAcquittal(discharge)ofanaccused. Flowchart

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4.POLICERELUCTANCETOREGISTERFIRAmongst the many key performance indicators (KPIs) for policefunctions,theincreaseinnumberofregisteredFIRisanindicationofthe high prevalence of crimes in a locality. The Crime Rate (totalreported crime per 100,000 population) will rise if the FIRs aregreaterinnumber.Itwillindicatethatthecommunityisnotsafeandcriminals are free to commit crimes easily like murder, theft androbberyordacoity.Insuchcasesthepolicetrytoreducethenumberof FIRs in their respective areas. Public complaints about police ofhiding crimes and reducing them to the status of enquiries in theDailyDiaryarehigherthananyothercomplaintaboutpoliceinoursociety. The police usually try to render the ‘theft’ into a privatedisputeoracaseofmissingproperty,sotoreducetheseverityandintensityofacrimeinthepubliceyesandinfrontofseniorofficers.This also leads to less sensational signals in media and so lesscriticismfromopposition.Incaseoflossorstolenpropertyinacaseof theft or robbery, the senior officers come very hard on the fieldofficers and they are held accountable for commission of suchseriousoffencesintheirareasofjurisdiction.Thisiswhytheytrytomitigate the severity of such offences. But this is against humanrightsand this is tantamount toconcealmentof factsandabetmentincrime.

5.E-FIRASASOLUTIONTOPOLICEMANIPULATIONSIn order to address the machination, manipulation/ maneuvering,complacencyandpoorperformanceofthepolice,andtoaddressthedelay in the registration of a complaint about a cognizable offence,the Police Department of KP Government has introduced theRegistration of an Online FIR. By this a complainant puts hiscomplaintinhisownwords(English/Urdu/Roman)whichisexactlyreproducedinthesamelanguageandthelocalpoliceisboundtoactupon the same for investigation and arrest/recovery. Thecomplainant maintains his/her record of registration/print out orEmailnoteetc.,thesystemisconnectedtoacentraldatabaseintheCentral Police Office (CPO), where the director of IT/Data-basecenter in-charge, can easily report to the police chief or seniorofficersintheinvestigationwingforsupervising/monitoringtheFIRafterprocesses.Theonline registration is just aquick response forthe registration of a complaint. It is not a complete FIR. It onlyreduces the delay in a police station and avoids tactics of a policeofficertohideordelaythecommissionofanoffencetoreporttotheseniorofficer.Thishasledtoahigherlevelofaccountabilityfearinthe police officers of concerned police station. It also cultivates asense of responsibility and greater level of monitoring at the topmanagement who are also brought into the loop of investigativemanagement. An FIR, on its back, has many columns for different

REVIEWOFHUMANRIGHTS 51police actions and outcomes of an investigation; a further onlineentries into those columnswhich helps a complainant to check his‘account of investigation’ like an ‘account of online-banking’.Technologyhascometotherescueofapoorcomplainantwhowasdenied to register his complaint about the commission of a crime,whichwashis/herlegalright.

V.PoliceInvestigationandHumanRightsViolations

Policeareoftenaccusedofhumanrights(HR)violationinallofits functions namely prevention of crimes, investigation of crimesand prosecution of criminals. The major HR violations which thepolice are suspected orwhich actually they do, are summarized asfollows:a.DENIALOFINVESTIGATIONANDREPORTUnder the law (section 154 CrPC), a citizen is authorized (has thelegalright)toreporttothepoliceforinfringementofanyofhisright(likeright toproperty, right toenterapublic/open/personalplace,right toprotection,etc),whichshouldbesubjected to investigationfor fixing responsibility on the violator/ perpetrator of the crime.Police manipulation, police corruption, police tampering in thereportornon-chalancemaydepriveacitizenofhis/herbasicrighttocomplainagainsttheviolationofandcommissionofanoffence.TheexpertsandadvocatesofHRsconsiderasaviolationofhumanrighttowhichacitizenisentitled.

b.WRONGIMPLICATIONINCRIMINALCASESThe Policemay either implicate an innocent person into a kind of‘jointresponsibility’(asoftenseenincasesofmurderduetofamilyfeudwherenotonemurdererbutmaximumofmalemembersoftheopponentpartyare chargedwith the commissionof sameoffence),orexoneratearealculpritbygivinghimadvantageof legal lacunaeor safe passages like alibi (where the presence of a perpetrator isshown in a distant place at the time of commission of offence) ornon-provisionofanysolidevidenceand thusdischargeofapersonundersection169ofCrPCwheretheInvestigationOfficer(I.O)couldnotestablishthecaseagainstapersonforwantofsolidprooforanyrecordorwitnessagainsttheperpetrator.Itispertinenttomentionhere that any wrong entry in FIR register or Daily Diary registerinvokesaminimumpunishmentofdismissalfromservice.c.DELAYINGTACTICSAnI.O.isboundtosubmitadailyCaseDiary(calledZimni inUrdu),whichisconsideredasaProgressReportintheadvancementoftheinvestigation.Incaseofnon-submissionforadayorso,heisboundtogivereasonsforabreakintheinvestigation,whichisacontinuousprocess. In such delay, an I.O can deliberately denymany rights to

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the complainant as well as the accused who may face a longdetention in case of non-completion of investigation, leading tofaulty prosecution or denial of bail to an accused who is undercustodyandwaitingforthefindingsofanI.O.d.HABEASCORPUS—WRONGFULDETENTIONPolice is often blamed forwrongful detention in police locks-up orsafe-houses(awayfrompolicestation).OftencitizensresorttolegalremedytoapproachtheHighCourtofaprovinceforwritofHabeasCorpus,wheretheCourtorderstheproductionofadetainedpersonwithout any reason or law. The UN has its guidelines for theprotectionofalldetainedpersonsinapolicecustodyorjail,whethertheyarekept inapolice custody for investigationup to14days inPolice Remand in cases of ordinary nature. Often the policeinvestigation cannot be completed in 14-days, or the competentcourtsdon’tgrantaremandformoredays, thepolicecantwist theinvestigations in either direction. In cases of terrorism, heinouscrimes (like extortion, but covered under the terrorism laws), thepolicehaveagreaterauthority forpolicecustody,upto90days, inwhicheventhebailisnotgrantedbythecompetentcourtssoeasily.In Police corruption, the I.O. may add a new section of law to theexisting FIR in order to aggravate the crime and increase itsintensity, so theaccused isdeprivedofmanyofhis rights. Inmanycases,thepoliceI.O.maydropasectionoflaw,andmaythinoutthecrime, somay deprive the complainant of his/her right to his/herpropertyandwheretherealculpritisdischargedonlegalbasis.e.NON-SUBMISSIONOFFINALREPORTInmost cases, the police SHOdon’t submit the FinalReport, called‘Challan’ to the competent court, through prosecution in time. TheformerChief Justice of Paksitan Iftikhar Chaudhryused to visit theprisonsandaskforthetrialofaninmate.HeoftengaveverystrongremarksagainsttheSHOandorderedtheirenquiriesaswhypeoplewere languishing in jail and their trials were not started as thechallanwerenot submitted in time.Anaccused is thusdeprivedofhis/herfreedomandliberty,forafaultnotofhis/herown.f.TAMPERINGWITHDOCUMENTSAnI.O.maydowillfultamperinginrecord,likerecordingtheageofajuvenileas18/19or17/18,oroftenanadultas17/18or16/17,soto benefit a partywith interest. The I.Omay avoid confirmation ofthe stated age with modern medical facilities. Instead he givesweightage to the self-prepared school/municipality report or self-assessment.Delayinginmedicalorforensicreportsalsoleadtosuchtampering. Improper presentation of sample or destroying theevidence at the scene of crime (as happened in the famous case ofBenazirBhutto’smurder)alsoareHRviolations foroneoranother

REVIEWOFHUMANRIGHTS 53party.Incasesofchildabuseorjuvenileoffenders,photographsarenottobeissuedtomedia,buttheI.Ooftendoitsecretly,whichareviolations of rights and in conflict with the juvenile justice systemlaw(2000).

VI.PoliceReformsandtheConditionofHumanRightsinKPKThereforms inpoliceare initiatedduetooneorotherreasons,e.g.new laws, new technologies, new demands, new internationalobligations and new vision of police leadership or political partiesmanifesto.Whateveristhereason,thepolicereformsarecarriedoutatdifferentlevels,likereformsinselection/recruitment,intraining,in posting/transfers, in police rules, in new guidelines (calledStanding Orders/Circular Orders), new procedures, new authorityandnewunits,etc.whenIlookbacktothelast16/17yearsintheKPpolice, I recall the following measures adopted by police forimprovingtheHumanRightssituation:(Fasihuddin,2012)a.IMPORTANCEOFHUMANRIGHTSINLEGALDOCUMENTSThe Police Act, 1861 remained in vogue till 2002. TheAct of 1861was seriously criticized for being ‘Colonial’ and subjugation of‘IndianSubjects’and itspromulgationwasblamedtobea ‘coercivelaw’intheaftermathof‘1857mutiny’(warofIndependence)where‘suppression’ and ‘oppression’ of dissenting voices and non-conformistswasthebasicaiminordertoachievepeaceandrestore‘order’inthearea.Theremaybecounter-arguments,butthegenesisof1861isblamedthoroughlyonthesegrounds.

ThePoliceOrder,2002wasinitiatedtoaddress, inter-alia,suchanomalies, and give a good name and humanly touch to the publicface of the police,who are chargedwith seriousHR violations liketorture, illegal detention,wrongful implications of innocent people,ortamperingwithdocumentstodeprivepeopleoftheirfundamentalrightstosafetyandproperty.TheOrder2002describestheroleandresponsibilities of the Police in detail and HR considerations areparticularlymentioned,especiallythoseofwomen,children,elderly,minorities and inmates (people in police custody). Similarly, thePoliceAct,2016(now2017)alsogivesadetaileddescriptionoftheroleandauthorityofthepolice,withthesameaimwhichthefounderofthemodernPolice,SirRobertPeel,gavein1829bysaying,“Policearepublicandpublicarethepolice.”b.STRUCTURALUNITSFORHUMANRIGHTSPROTECTIONAfter the 2002, the Police in KP entered into agreementswith thecivil society and NGOs and in collaboration with the UN or DonorAgencies, like Save the Children, etc. and a few units wereestablishedlike:i) PoliceChildandWomenProtectionCommitteeii) JuvenileJusticeWorkingGroup(JJWG)

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iii) PoliceChildProtectionCenter(PCPC)iv) DirectorateofHumanRights(DHR)All the units were fully operational for many years, and wererepresented by all stakeholders and pillars of the Criminal JusticeSystem (CJS), and they provided excellent services to themarginalized groups of children and women (whethervictims/abusedoroffenders).TheirworkandservicewerepraisedbythelocaljudiciaryaswellandtheinitiativesinKPwerereplicatedby the Police of Balochistan and even the National Police Bureau(NPB) advised and recommended to other provinces to follow thesamepatternandreformsforchildrenandwomenrightsasdoneinthe KP (then NWFP). On the basis of these reforms, the PakistanSocietyofCriminology,reproducedtworesearchreportsonJuvenileJustice Indicators (JJIs), as recommended by the United NationsOffice on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United NationsInternational Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). In the wholeAsia, itwasdoneonly in theKP.These InstitutionalReforms led tothe introduction of two new registers in the Police Stations, called26-A and 27-A, for data and record of juvenile justice andwomenrights. The Pakistan Journal of Criminology, in collaboration withstakeholders and local police, published special issues on juvenilejustice and women protection/Gender-responsive policing. Sadly,thedonor’s fatigue left thesereforms in themiddle,however,someof them are still in vogue in the police station or in Balochistan.Thousands of police officials were trained in the Police TrainingCollegeHangu, in themodules for childprotectionpreparedby thePakistanSocietyofCriminology(PSC)andsomeofthesubjectswereincluded in the curricula of police training centers in KP andBalochistan, and even other provinces followed suit and preparedtheir own. The ICRC prepared a complete document of HR andPolicingforpoliceofficialsandtrainingcentersinPakistan.TheICRCpublished some booklets in Urdu and English for field officers sothey should know their responsibilities in terms ofHR,which theyarerequiredtoprotectandpromote.

c.PROCEDURALREFORMSFORHRPROMOTIONTherecentpolicereformsinKPmaybesummarized,forpromotionof HRs, as it “depolicitized the police in terms of selection,promotion, posting and transfer.” Extraneous influences areremoved and the police are held responsible to the public. Thevarioustoolsintroducedforthispurposeare:a) CitizenPolice,LiaisonCommittee(CPLC)b) PoliceComplaintAuthorityc) DistrictCommitteeonJustice

REVIEWOFHUMANRIGHTS 55d) Public Safety Commission (emerged with Police Complaint

Authority).Itisatalllevels,fromdistricttoProvince.e) PoliceAccessService(PAS)f) Police Assistance Line (PAL) (PAS and PAL are the indigenous

ideasoflocalpoliceforreadyaccessibilitytothepublic).g) SMS/ Complaint Registration: People can approach senior

officers directly for any of HR violation, where anautomatic/computergeneratedresponsewillberecorded.

h) Online Registration of FIR: Often Human Rights violations aregenerated/givenriseduetothenon-registrationofacomplaint.The citizens can do it online, if they have the facility, and cankeep the record. They can avoid this fundamental rightthemselves.Acitizenisentitledtodoso.

d.POLICEACTIONAGAINSTTORTUREANDPOLICEACCOUNTABILITYThis is the main and very common complaint of human rightsviolationagainstthepolice.Somesocialmediaimagesledtoseriouspolicenoticebytheseniorpoliceofficers(likeinDistrictKarakandNowshehra), where HR violators (the accused officials) weresuspended and proceeded against. Most of the officials, accused ofHRs, lost their jobs, after allegation and evidence of human rightsviolations. The recent reforms of responding to human rightsviolationsmadeexamplesforothers.

e.HUMANRIGHTSEDUCATIONINPOLICETRAININGSMost of the courses/syllabi of police officials and in both the basicandspecializedtrainings,thesubjectofHumanRights,itsprotectionandpromotion, isnowincluded, toeducateandsensitizethepoliceonthisimportantaspectofpolicing.Notes:

1.Suddle,“Pakistan.”2. Fasihuddin, “Criminology and Criminal Justice System in Pakistan”;

Fasihuddin, Expanding criminology to Pakistan; Fasihuddin, “Police and policing in Pakistan.”

3. Shigri, “Dismantling the police command structure.” 4.Fasihuddin,“CriminologyandCriminalJusticeSysteminPakistan.”5.Makarenko,“TheCrime–TerrorContinuum.”

Acknowledgement:

WewouldliketothanktheeditorSyedSamiRazaforhisgenerouseditorialandproofreadingassistance.

References:

Fasihuddin. “Criminology and Criminal Justice System in Pakistan.” InHandbook of Asian Criminology, edited by Jianhong Liu, Susyan Jou, andBillHebenton,247-281.NewYork:Springer,2013.

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--------.ExpandingcriminologytoPakistan.Peshawar:PakistanSocietyofCriminology.2008.

--------.“PoliceandPolicinginPakistan.”InPoliceandsecurityyearbook2010–2011editedbyAjitDovalandB.R.Lall.NewDelhi:ManasPublications,2010.

Makarenko, Tamara. “The Crime–Terror Continuum: Tracing the InterplaybetweenTransnationalOrganisedCrime andTerrorism.”Global Crime 6no.1(2004):129–145.

"Police Access Service." Digital image. 2015. Accessed August 25, 2016.http://kppolice.gov.pk/pas/.

Shigri,A.“Dismantlingthepolicecommandstructure.”TheNewsInternational.January3,2005.AccessedNovember25,2015.http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jan2005-daily/03-01-2005/oped/opinion.htm

Suddle,MShoaib.“Pakistan.”InCriminalJusticeproFilesofAsia,Investigation,ProsecutionandTrial,editedbyUnitedNationsAsiaandFarEastInstituteforthePreventionofCrimeandTreatmentofOffenders,Tokyo:UNIFEI,1995.