-DAWN - Top Stories; 21 October, 1998
MQM opposes metropolitan police proposal
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, Oct 20: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement opposed on Tuesday the proposal of metropolitan police and metropolitan public safety commission and termed it a deep-rooted conspiracy to destroy the democratic institutions
and undermine autonomous status of province.
Rejecting the proposal advanced by the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's coordination committee said it was aimed at introducing "a latent rule of the governor, degrading and discrediting the biggest Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and replacing the elected mayor of KMC by a non-elected chief of an NGO."
In a statement, the MQM coordination committee said the proposed Karachi Metropolitan Public Safety Commission and the Karachi Metropolitan Police Department "are definitely not metropolitan in character."
"The Metropolitan Police Commissioner of New York City is appointed by the elected Mayor of the NY City Council," it said.
"You can't bypass the provincial assembly and elected representatives," said deputy convener of the MQM coordination committee Senator Aftab Shaikh.
The MQM was of the view that the proposed KMPSC was not democratic either "because out of six members, two will be MPAs, each to be nominated by the leader of the House and Leader of the opposition.
"There is no guarantee that these two shall be from urban Karachi", the coordination committee maintained adding that rest of the members were to be nominated from amongst non-elected professionals by the government with the approval of the prime minister.
"For MQM, the proposal was not only undemocratic but also in violation of the provision of the constitution. It is not the governor, but the chief minister who is the chief executive of the province and the mayor who is the chief executive of the city".
"To seek approval of the prime minister for appointment of the nominated members is against the spirit of provincial," said the coordination committee, adding that "we do propose the creation of a Metropolitan Police Force, but it should be on the pattern of a true Metropolitan Police Force which needs an in-depth study."
Any decision in haste and that to on the recommendations of the vested interests would further jeopardise the metropolitan status of Karachi and autonomous status of the province, it said.
It maintained that "it is absolutely incorrect that the present policing crisis was only because of obsolete Police Act of 1861, or because police placed under general control of the District Magistrate, is neither politically neutral nor democratically controlled."
The coordination committee maintained that subservience of police under army or rangers was among many of the factors which contributed towards the present impasse. This situation, it said, had completely demoralised the force.
The problem further aggravated because provincial governments had little freedom to select their own police chiefs, there was lack of modern tools and training facilities for investigation, low salary structure and too much interference from federal government, particularly by the intelligence agencies, it said.
The dwindling role of executive magistrate, and non- conviction of criminals also caused the problem, it said.
It maintained that the Sindh Police Act which was ideally suited to the socio- economic conditions of the province was replaced by the Punjab Act of 1960 after the formation of One-Unit, which also compounded problems.
It emphasised that in case the government decided to introduce a Metropolitan Police System, the elected representatives are taken into confidence before any decision is taken.
A decision on the recommendation of the CPLC or any other non-elected body without the consensus of the elected representatives of Karachi would be an exercise in futility, said the coordination committee.