Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday resolved that the Punjab Police would be reformed into a modern force by replacing the old thana culture with the friendly policing to get the public trust revived.

“When police perform effectively, it can change the fate of the country… This is the beginning. Insha’Allah, I think this is new mindset what we call Naya Pakistan. The politics of thana and katchery had inflicted us a huge loss. The change would start from the mind,” he remarked while addressing the inauguration ceremony of a Model Police Station.

The opening of the model police station by the prime minister during his day long visit to his native city, was also a symbolic inauguration of total such 29 stations established across the province.

On his arrival at Mianwali Police Lines, a contingent of Punjab Police presented guard of honor to the prime minister.

Chief Minister of Punjab Sardar Muhammad Usman Buzdar and Punjab Chief Secretary and Inspector General of Punjab Police were also present on the occasion.

Punjab Police IG Shoaib Dastgir briefed the prime minister on the project of model police stations and other measures taken by the Punjab Police to provide relief to the people.

The prime minister said that he and the Punjab chief minister had decided to extend all out support to the IGP to bring about a visible change in the police culture of the province.

He viewed that the provision of a friendly atmosphere to the people at the police stations could make a huge difference. The nation’s progress was linked with the confidence given by the police to the needy and distressed people through friendly atmosphere by doing away with the old mindset and culture.

The prime minister lauded the IG for establishing the model police station equipped with token calling system and other modern facilities.

He said at the earlier days of his politics started from Mianwali, most of the complaints and applications he used to receive were related to the police and katchery.

He said even the politicians also used to control the police by getting their crony SHO or SPs appointed in their constituencies – not for any good purpose but to victimise or intimidate their opponents through fake cases. Due to the very reason, the people had lost trust in the police, he remarked.

The prime minister said the remodelling of the old police station was very significant, where the people would get their complaints addressed through a modern token calling system instead of looking for some references to approach the police officers.

“This is very great step. I believe these model police stations would become an model for whole of Punjab,” he hoped. The prime minister desired to see the Punjab Police reformed on the pattern of the erstwhile demoralised KP Police, which had revived the public trust to such an extent that even the people protested in their favour. This all happened when the PTI-led provincial government freed the police from the political influence and people were recruited on merit through NTS.

“This is what I want to see in Punjab. This is a huge challenge. We have developed wrong habits particularly due to the bad governance during last 30 years, he added. Earlier, the prime minister unveiled the plaque of the project and also visited various parts of the police station and penned his remarks at the guest book.

He also visited a mobile police facilitation centre named as Khidmat Markaz which would address public complaints at their doorsteps. He planted a sapling at the police station as part of his initiative of Clean and Green Pakistan and 10 Billion Tree Tsunami.

According to the project details, ten model police stations had been set up in different cities of Gujranwala region, four each in Faisalabad and Dera Ghazi Khan, three in Rawalpindi, Sargodha and Multan, and two in Sheikhupura regions.

Separately, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said the ethnic cleansing of Muslims continues in India, as police brutality had reached a new low.

The premier took to social media and said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fascist government continues its agenda of ethnic cleansing of Muslims.

PM Imran reiterated that India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had a racist ideology and wanted to transform India as a Hindu state.

After Modi’s illegal annexation of Indian Occupied Kashmir, the premier warned that further escalation between nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India may lead to a catastrophe. He urged the international community to speak against the human rights violation and expressed disappointment over the silence.

He said the explosive situation could escalate beyond the Indian subcontinent.

Following the illegal annexation, the Indian government passed a citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims.

Critics say the law is a precursor to a national register of citizens that many among India’s 200 million Muslims fear will leave them stateless.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has decided to convene a meeting on the grim human rights situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and enactment of an anti-Muslim law in India. According to sources, the meeting will be held in April 2020. Separately, a report over excessive gas bills was submitted to Prime Minister Imran Khan in which extra charges that were put on consumers were analysed along with supply and demand situation, sources said on Saturday.

The sources claimed that Rs 513 million will be returned to users for being overcharged. Difference between gas pressure and amount of bills was also monitored upon the premier’s directions.

The sources further stated that action was being taken on the orders of the board of directors of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL). They added that Rs 50 million were returned to consumers in February and March last year.