Punjab Police (Pakistan)

The Punjab Police (Punjabi, Urdu: پنجاب پولیس) is a Police Force law and order agency responsible for maintaining Law and Order in the province of Punjab. working under the command of Inspector General (IG) Punjab Police. It controls all criminal cases by taking action under Police Act 1861 and 2002 against criminals in the province of Punjab, Pakistan.

This article is about the Pakistani Punjab Police. For the Indian Punjab Police, see Punjab Police (India).

Punjab Police
پنجاب پولیس
AbbreviationP.P
MottoTo Serve and Protect our Punjab
Agency overview
Formed22 March 1861[1]
Employees180,000[2]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionPunjab, Pakistan
Map of Punjab Police's jurisdiction.
Size205,344 square kilometres (79,284 sq mi)
Population110,012,442
Legal jurisdictionPunjab
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersLahore, Punjab
Agency executive
  • Shoaib Dastagir, PSP, IG Punjab
Facilities
Stations227
Airbases2
Patrol cars454
Boats0
Planes3
Website
punjabpolice.gov.pk

Shoaib Dastgir, PSP has been appointed the new IG Punjab Police as of 28 November 2019.[3]

History

Mughal Era

The system of policing in Mughal Era was organized on the basis of land tenure. Zamindars were responsible for apprehending disturbers of the public peace and performing other policing duties. At the level of the village these functions were performed by the village headmen. In large towns administration of the police was entrusted to, functionaries called Kotwals who discharged the combined duties of law enforcement, municipal administration and revenue collection. Patrol officers in the shape of village watchmen or patels in villages and peons, horse patrolmen and such other like men in the towns were present. Violent organized crime was usually dealt with by the military.

British Era

The modern system of policing was introduced during British Rule. The British administration relieved the Zamindars of their responsibility for police service and introduced magistrates with Daroghas and other subordinate officers for Police purposes. The Punjab Police was also organized on the pattern of two main branches, the Military Preventive Police and the Civil Detective Police. As this arrangement was not found to be satisfactory so in 1860 the Government of British India urged the Government of Punjab to look into the system of policing then prevalent in the province. However, as the issue was of general importance the central Government appointed a commission to inquire into whole question of policing in British India. The Calcutta Police Commission of 1860 recommended the abolition of the Military Arm of the Police, the appointment of an Inspector General of Police in the Province and the placement of Police in a district under the District Superintendent. The Commission recommended that only the District Magistrate should exercise any Police functions. Based on the recommendations of the commission the Government of India submitted a bill which was passed into law as Act V of 1861. The Police Act of 1861 was adopted. The organizational design that followed the Act survives to this day.

The Punjab Police Rules of 1933

documented the police practices as they stood at that time and introduced some new measures for improving administration and operational effectiveness of police. The content of the Rules reveals that the Punjab Police had grown into a thoroughly professional police organization by 1934 and possessed considerable knowledge of the crime and criminals in the province. It had developed effective procedures and practices for dealing with various kinds of criminal activity. The administrative and disciplinary functions were also elaborated. The Rules have served as the model for similar sets of rules in other provinces of Pakistan and are still in force today.

Punjab Police after Independence
Service colour Dark blue and red
        
Uniform colour Green, Green
        

The Punjab Police played a significant part in handling the refugee crisis of 1947–48. It continued as a separate organization till 1955 when it was merged with the police of other provinces to create the West Pakistan Police. The DIG West Pakistan was Inayat Ali Shah. DIG East Pakistan and DIG West Pakistan used to report to one IG which during the decade of the 1950s was Qurban Ali Khan. There were several attempts to review and reform police organization and performance during the 1950s and 60s which however could not be implemented. The legal framework of police in Pakistan underwent a major change as a consequence of Devolution of Power Plan implemented between 2001 and 2006. The Plan provided for devolution of a considerable portion of Provincial Government's authority and functions to districts and introduction of public accountability of police.

In line with Devolution of Power Plan, the office of Deputy Commissioner of the district was abolished in 2001 and a system of district governments was introduced through the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2001. As a part of the Plan a new police law, the Police Order, replaced the Police Act 1861 in 2002. It brought sweeping changes to the police organization. The new law introduced public accountability in the form of Public Safety Commissions at district, provincial and national level. The Police Order 2002 also provided for an independent Police Complaints Authority, increased autonomy of the Inspector General of Police and instituted functional specialization by separation of investigation from other functions of Police. Currently the Punjab Police are engaged in counter terrorism operations in the province.[4]

Organization
Punjab police uniform shirt

The Punjab Police is constituted by the Police Order 2002 and operates under Police Rules of 1934. There is a Central Police Office (CPO) at Lahore which has a number of functional branches like Legal Affairs Division (Legal Branch), Finance & Welfare, Establishment, Operations, Training, Research & Development, etc. These units report to the Inspector General of Police through their respective Additional Inspectors General of Police. The Regional Police Officers report to the Inspector General of Police directly and they do not form part of the Central Police Office (CPO), Punjab. The Inspector General of Police is ex-officio secretary to the Government of Punjab. The Punjab Police is staffed by officers of the Punjab Police and the Police Service of Pakistan.

Specified forces in Punjab police department:

  • Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA)
  • Counter Terrorism Department (CTD)
  • Criminal Investigation Agency(CIA)
  • Special Protection Unit (SPU)
  • Punjab Elite Force
  • Punjab Boundary Force
  • Punjab River Police
  • Punjab Traffic Police
  • Punjab Highway Patrol
  • Punjab Dolphin Force
  • Punjab Constabulary

The main police formations are as follows:

  • Central Police Office (CPO), Punjab
  • Police Regions
  • Investigation Branch
  • Special Branch
  • Telecommunication Branch
  • Operation branch

Equipment

Vehicles

Mohafiz (Internal Security Vehicle), Toyota Hilux (Single Cab & Double Cabin Vigo), Toyota Corolla, Suzuki Swift, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Land Cruiser (70 Series), Toyota Fortuner. Officers are allotted cars as per their rank, bulletproof vehicles are provided to officers serving at sensitive postings or the kind of security threats any particular officer has, not every officer.

Designations

Designations of Punjab Police are as follow:[5]

Grade Police Ranks Abbreviations
BPS-07
  • Constable
  • PC
BPS-07
  • Traffic Assistant
  • TA
BPS-09
  • Head Constable
  • HC
BPS-11
  • Assistant Sub-Inspector
  • ASI
BPS-14
  • Sub-Inspector
  • SI
BPS-16
  • Police Inspector
  • Inspector
BPS-17
  • Assistant Superintendent of Police
  • Deputy Superintendent of Police
  • ASP
  • DSP
BPS-18
  • Superintendent of Police
  • SP
BPS-19
  • Senior Superintendent of Police/Assistant Inspector General
  • SSP/AIG
BPS-20
  • Deputy Inspector General
  • DIG
BPS-21
  • Additional Inspector General
  • Addl. IG
BPS-22
  • Inspector General of Police
  • IGP
 Mob:- 03427935933-

Posts

SHO,PSO, SDPO, DPO, CPO, RPO and PPO are posts, not ranks. So you may see a lower rank acting as a higher post for some time.[6]

Crime and controversies
See also: List of cases of law enforcement brutality in Pakistan

The Anti-Corruption Establishment Punjab declared Punjab Police as the most corrupt public department in the province in a 2010 report.[7] Members of Punjab Police have been involved in a number of criminal activities. In November, 2017 a man named Asif was killed in fake encounter in Faisalabad. He was initially identified as a robber but later turned out to be unarmed innocent civilian who had an affair with the relative of DSP Gujranwala and left the country. He was on a visit to Pakistan when policemen in plain cloths shot and killed him.[8] Sexual assault, harassment, and mistreatment of women is also common in Punjab Police. As per a 20 November 2017 news story by express.pk, two police officers namely Intizar Abbas and Najam Abbas of Punjab Police, Lahore tore the cloths of a woman, made video and later tried to blackmail the woman and also shared the video via social media. Both were later removed from Police force. It is unknown whether any legal action was taken against them of not.[9] In a similar incident, Faisalabad police gang-raped the wife of another police officer named Manzoor Ahmad.[10] Even elderly people are not safe from brutality of Punjab Police. In November 2017, a video surfaced on social media showed police torturing two elderly couple. The video shocked the public and whole police station was suspended.[11] A seven-year-old child was arrested for kidnapping by Punjab Police in 2015.[12] Another 12-year-old child was arrested by Punjab Police Bahawalpur after they failed to arrest his father who was one of the farmers named in an FIR. FIR was launched against farmers after they disagreed over prices of sugar cane at the sugar mill of Ch. Zaka Ashraf. Boy had his exams coming and took his books to the cell where he studied in his cell.[13]

Uniform change and controversy

In 2018, the Punjab police changed its standard uniform from its classic black shirts, brown khaki pants to an all olive-green uniform.[14][15] The change was met with mixed reactions. The government claimed it had consulted professional designers before standardizing this new uniform, but many have criticized it as dull and circles within the police have argued it to be less attractive.[16]

Other reports have stated that due to the dull color, the newer uniform has not been approved for mass distribution amongst Punjab Police's force.[17]

See also

References
  1. http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/print_section
  2. "Punjab Police Sanctioned Strength". Archived from the original on 18 June 2008.
  3. "Newly appointed IGP takes charge". 18 April 2019.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. http://www.pakistanhotline.com/2016/11/pakistan-police-ranks-badges-and-grades.html?m=1
  6. http://www.pakistanhotline.com/2016/11/pakistan-police-ranks-badges-and-grades.html?m=1
  7. "'Punjab Police most corrupt public dept in the province' - The Express Tribune". 26 June 2010.
  8. "فیصل آباد مقابلہ؛ مقتول کو ڈی ایس پی کی بھتیجی سے شادی کی سزا ملی، ورثا - ایکسپریس اردو". 8 November 2017.
  9. "لاہور میں پولیس اہلکاروں کا خاتون پر تشدد، وڈیو بھی بنائی - ایکسپریس اردو". 20 November 2017.
  10. "فیصل آباد کے تھانے میں اہلکاروں کی پولیس افسر کی بیوی سے مبینہ زیادتی - ایکسپریس اردو". 18 November 2017.
  11. "Punjab police barbarity with elderly couple - Samaa TV". www.samaa.tv.
  12. "Punjab police book 7-year-old child in kidnapping case".
  13. "بہاولپور: باپ کی عدم گرفتاری پر 12 سالہ بچہ تھانے میں بند".
  14. "Punjab police consulted fashion school for new uniforms". www.geo.tv.
  15. "Punjab police dons new uniform in Lahore". www.geo.tv.
  16. Chaudhry, Asif (23 March 2017). "Is the Punjab police's new uniform a change for the better?".
  17. "Punjab Police new Uniform, A Change in Punjab Police - TrendsinPK". 23 March 2017.
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