KP probation regime: major reforms suggested

The Aitebaar programme with the technical assistance of Research Society of International Law (RSIL) organised a conference on "Reforming Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Probation Regime" here Tuesday. The conference aimed to present the findings of the study undertaken to review the province's probation regime. Speaker Provincial Assembly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Asad Qaiser chaired the concluding session.
Addressing the conference, Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Asad Qaiser appreciated the efforts of Aitebaar, the legal community in developing proposals for legislative reform. He stated that the KP Assembly has the distinction that in a short span of two years it has passed major legislation, including the Ehtesab Act, Right to Information Act, and Right to Services Act. Our assembly is passing laws on a daily basis. All our efforts are focused on good governance. All our legal reforms are based on wide ranging working groups which provided recommendations. We have activated all our standing committees to identify lacunas in the laws."
He suggested that further consultations with the Law Department, Advocate General's department should also be organised to deliberate upon the details of the proposed legislation. He assured support from the KP Assembly in passage of legislation for reforming the criminal laws, but after due deliberation and thorough consultation. He said that all laws have to be compliant with Human Rights and common man / government officials should not fear the laws.
He said that the KP Government wants that everyone responsible for government funds should be answerable and accountable to their use. The Speaker also thanked DFID for supporting such policy/legal reforms. Aitebaar, in collaboration with RSIL conducted an in-depth study on the domestic probation regime to identify areas that required critical reform and reviewed the current legislation and jurisprudence. The study involved direct interactions, such as, focus group discussions with primary stakeholders from the Directorate of Reclamation and Probation.
The study suggested that major reforms were needed in the probation regime and limitations in the current legislation were identified. The provision of legal framework for community service and effective monitoring compliance procedures in related areas were needed.
The release of the report comes as part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affair's Department's efforts to strengthen the institutional capacity and accountability of its attached departments. Aitebaar is a 4 year UKAID-funded programme, implemented in collaboration with the KP Government, aimed at strengthening trust between citizens and government in the Security and Justice Sector. The programme works with government and policy makers to initiate reforms in the processes, procedures and law to improve the quality of provision of service in the security and justice sector of KP.