Greater cooperation needed to cope with terrorism: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday emphasized to have greater cooperation and coordination among the law-enforcement agencies to cope with menace of extremism and terrorism and to improve peace and security in the country.

Addressing passing-out parade of Assistant Superintendents Police (ASPs), he said the menace of terrorism threatened the very fabric of the society and its nexus with the crime had made the task of police more challenging.

He said the nature of extremism and terrorism needed proactive role by the police to rise to the occasion to nip this evil in the bud.

The Prime Minister urged police to maintain close relationship with the local community and added such interaction would not only provide the police information about anti-nation and anti-social elements but also deny criminals any refuge in the locality.

He directed the police to be courteous with the community in order to seek more cooperation from them.

The Prime Minister said policing is a dynamic and demanding profession and keeping in view the challenges, old concepts must give way to innovative approach for crime management.

Expressing concerns over poor state of investigation, he said those accused criminals are not convicted by courts due to poor and lack of investigation.

"We cannot allow criminals and terrorists to get away due to lack of our failure to gather information," he added.

The Prime Minister said outdated methods of investigation should be replaced with scientific approach and there is a need to strengthen forensic capabilities and modernize the investigation process.

The Prime Minister, while referring to the recent passage of fair trial bill by the Parliament, expressed the confidence that it will help bring culprits to justice.

He said under this bill, law-enforcement agencies will be further empowered but in no way, it will be a license to suppress human rights and human dignity.

The Prime Minister expressed the confidence that the newly inducted police officials will play their due role in changing the negative perception about police.

He said the police service is a public face of the state apparatus and the dreaded "Thana Culture" has cast dark shadow on its performance.

He urged the police officials to change this perception and make the people feel that police is their friend and protector.

The Prime Minister said he is confident that the police officials have the requisite determination, calibre and training to come up to the people's expectations.

He said the policing is a very dynamic and demanding profession and given the varied nature of challenges, old concepts must give way to innovative approach for crime management.

He said obsolete methods of investigation and evidence collection by the police needed to be shunned. There was a need for increased reliance on scientific methods of investigation, he added.

He said people should have full confidence in the investigation carried out by the police and these investigations should be based on credible and admissible evidence.

He said there is need to strengthen forensic capabilities, modernize investigative techniques and tools of evidence collection.

The Prime Minister said National Police Academy and Police Training Institutions in the country should take up teaching and training in the discipline of investigation as a specialized subject.

The police should be trained on scientific lines both in intelligence gathering and criminal investigation, he added.

He assured that the government was ready to allocate additional resources and funds for any plan including hiring of foreign trainers and training of police officials abroad.

"We are committed to secure the life and property of our citizens at all costs,"he added.

Appreciating role of police in dealing with the menace of terrorism, the Prime Minister said a large number of officers and jawans had offered the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

The nation was proud of these police officers and jawans, he added.

Acknowledging the role of the Police Academy, he said he was confident that it had taught the graduating officers in a proper way who have gone through rigorous training, the need of serving the society, and upholding basic human rights of the citizens as well as facing the current challenges.

Congratulating the newly passed out ASPs, the Prime Minister said,"You have joined a profession which places a great responsibility on your shoulders and it demands an unflinching dedication, utmost devotion and commitment."

He said only a judicious and legitimate use of power will ensure the rule of law and enhance the prestige of police force.

The Prime Minister said the nation has great hopes from the police and they rightfully expect that the police would perform to the best of their abilities in a just and fair manner.

The function was also attended by Minister for Interior Senator A. Rehman Malik and other senior officials.

Earlier, the Prime Minister was prested guard of honour by the police jawans when he arrived at the Acadamy.

He also inspected the guard of honour presented to him on this occasion.

The Prime Minister also distributed shields and awards among the officers who had shown best performance during their training at the Academy.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2013