Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said that there was immediate need to change 'Thana Culture,' which not only casts a dark shadow on the performance of the state apparatus but also creates fear among the people. He made these remarks at the passing out parade of police officers belonging to 38th Specialised Training Programme at the National Police Academy here on Wednesday.
Raja further stated that he expects the police officers change this perception and make people feel that the police is their friend and protector. Prime Minister added that the menace of terrorism is a major threat to the country's social fabric as well as life and security of the people. He went on adding that the nexus of terrorism and crime makes the job of the police more difficult and challenging, and asked for a more proactive role of the police to rise to the occasion and nip the evil in the bud.
The Prime Minister underlined the need for increasing intelligence sharing among the law enforcement agencies for better co-ordination to fight terrorism. He urged the police to maintain close liaison with the local community and greater interaction with them would help provide the police information about anti-national and anti-social elements. He said that this objective would only be achieved if citizen don't feel fear from the police and have respect and regard for the state apparatus.
Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the poor state of investigation is a matter of serious concern and those accused of crimes were not being convicted by the courts due to poor investigation and lack of evidence. We cannot allow criminals and terrorists to get away, due to lack or failure in gathering evidence, admissible in a court of law, he said adding that the Parliament has recently passed 'A Right to Fair Trial Bill' to plug the legal loopholes which would strengthen law enforcement agencies in terms of evidence. The Prime Minister also stated that "let me state very clearly, that these powers are meant to curb terrorism and violence and are in no way a license to suppress human rights or dent human dignity. A democracy cannot allow a state to turn into a police state and emphasised that the police needs to adopt scientific methods regarding investigation and doing away with obsolete methods of evidence collection so that the people should have full confidence in investigation carried out by the police.
He said that the police should be trained on scientific lines both in intelligence gathering and criminal investigation and the government is ready to allocate additional resources and funds as well as implement any plan including hiring of foreign trainers and training of police officials abroad. The Prime Minister also appreciated the courage of the police against the menace of terrorism and sacrifices made by them.
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