Peshawar (Pakistan News) — The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to make changes to the Police Act 2017, for which an amendment draft has also been prepared.
According to sources, the proposed amendments include a suggestion to give the provincial government the authority to appoint the Inspector General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
After the amendments, the authority to appoint and transfer Regional Police Officers and District Police Officers, similar to the bureaucracy, will also rest with the chief minister.
Sources said a Public Safety Commission will be established to oversee police affairs, which will be headed by a member of the provincial assembly. The amendments to the Police Act also propose establishing a Regional Complaints Authority.
Provincial Law Minister Aftab Alam, speaking to Geo News, said the Police Act 2017 was being improved because policing is a provincial matter and the federal government has no authority over it.
He said a system of oversight and checks and balances over police powers was being made more effective to prevent misuse of authority. According to him, the Peshawar High Court had withdrawn the provincial government’s authority to transfer RPOs and DPOs.
Aftab Alam said the government was not curtailing police powers; rather, steps were being taken to make them more effective and improve their functioning.