Daily Times

The launch of an E-Police Desk by Islamabad police was no doubt an appreciable step, but police training is fundamental to real reforms in the entire police system, said Assistant Commissioner (AC) Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Shalimar Sidra Anwar here on Wednesday.

AC Anwar said that the training makes the system perfect. “Either it is police or any other institution, the training has a pivotal role in its immaculateness,” She told Daily Times, suggesting that many overwhelming issues in the overall police system could be resolved through proper training of police officials.

In reply to a question regarding women police officials in the department, Sidra said “now the trends are being changed and women are almost equally eager to enroll themselves in the police department, same like they would have been wished to enlist in other departments like medical, education, engineering, military and others in the past.”

According to the available information, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Qazi Jammelur Rehman a few weeks back inaugurated E-Police Desk at F-6 super market with the aim to facilitate citizens for online registration of complaints in case of any grievance. Under this facility visiting the police station to lodge a complaint would not be compulsory. As per the new facility, the complainants just needed to scan their Computerized National Identity Card on the barcode reader, attached with a high-tech machine installed at the e-desk, he added. After registration of complaint, the police personnel on duty would contact the complainant within a short span of time to redress the issue. Not only Islamabad’s citizens, according to the IGP, the visitors of the capital who belong to any corner of the country would also have the right to avail this facility. In the newly introduced system, a feedback option is also made part of the machine, which would help the police department in bringing reforms that, Sidra said, would hopefully yield better results.

As per IGP’s announcement, the applicant could inform the police about any inconvenience by contacting on the emergency phone numbers, displayed at the desk. The more similar desks are also on the cards to improve police performance in the federal capital.

Sidra, who belongs to PAS group of civil service, resumed charge as AC Shalimar in 2019. She has expertise to adjudicate and deal with the child abuse cases, women harassment cases and issues of transgender in the society. She vigorously worked during the emergence of COVID-19 in the country.

Ever since the pandemic, she has enthusiastically engaged in arrangement and distribution of ration for deserving people in joint cooperation with many charity organizations, holding field visits to ensure corona SOPs in her constituency are implemented. The AC Shalimar claimed that when she resumed the charge, there were more than 1000 pending public cases of different types, which she began to solve on priority basis, for their earlier conclusion. “Now after almost half a year, not a single file of any matter is laying on my table for proceeding,” she recalled, adding that special instructions from chief commissioner and deputy commissioner office have also been issued to resolve all public related cases on priority basis.