POLICE REFORMS: AN APPRAISAL

Abstract

The police are the frontline force for maintaining law and order in any modern civilized society. Unfortunately, the institution of the police in Pakistan has been far from ideal. In the prePartition era, the police were used as a tool to subdue those who questioned the British Raj. Adhering to the colonial tradition, the police in Pakistan have been exploited by the ruling elite to extend their power over the masses and protect their interests. The police in Pakistan, therefore, have been a target of criticism despite appreciable performance and valuable sacrifices rendered by them to maintain law and order. Over a period of time, many efforts have been made to bring structural reforms in the institution but they could not be fully materialized. A significant step was taken by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) in formulating the new Police Act of 2017 which has contributed to building a positive police image among the population. Similarly, Sind and other provinces have taken measures to reform the police. The purpose of this article is to trace the evolution of police reforms and analyse various versions of the Police Act being followed in Pakistan, with a view to identifying the reasons behind inefficiency or low performance of the police department as a whole and offer a few recommendations on the basis of this analysis.