Police in Pakistan are perceived to be one of the most widely feared, complained against government institutions in Pakistan that lacks a clear system of accountability and is vulnerable to political interference at all levels. Despite widespread recognition of this fundamental problem within successive Pakistani governments and an acknowledgement of the need for reform, the process of revamping the police system has been extremely slow.
October 1, 2020
Time:
4:00 pm
Facebook Live
One notable attempt made in this regard was the Police Order 2002 that addressed many organisational and structural problems that had hindered proper functioning of the police. Along with functional specialization, the 2002 Order also aimed to make the police more publicly accountable. It called for establishing several grievance redress and oversight bodies, consisting of elected and nominated members (including women), at the district, provincial, and national levels. However, nearly two decades onwards, the promise of reform remains unfulfilled.
Join us for the forty-sixth session of LUMS Live: Police Reform and Accountability. Our distinguished panelists include Dr. Ali Hasanain, Mr. Saroop Ijaz and Mr. Tahsin Shah.
Date: Thursday, October 1, 2020
Time: 4:00 pm (PST)
Moderated by Mr. Saroop Ijaz, the session will be broadcast live via the LUMS Facebook page. Please click here to listen to our panelists discuss some of the reasons for the failure and a way forward on what needs to be done for the Pakistan Police to become a modern, accountable, independent and rights respecting institution.
During the session, please use the live stream's comments bar to ask questions or email them at ask@lums.edu.pk.
After the session, kindly share your feedback and suggest future topics for discussion/guests here.
Join us for this important conversation!
Profiles of Panelists
Mr. Saroop Ijaz - Lawyer, Pakistan Representative for Human Rights Watch (HRW) and a Senior Counsel for Asia, HRW
Mr. Ijaz is also a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). Prior to joining the Human Rights Watch in 2014, he has been a consultant and an advisor for the European Union, British Council and various other organisations. Mr. Ijaz has been a regular opinion writer and columnist at Pakistan’s two most influential English Language dailies – the Express Tribune and Dawn for over a decade and continues to contribute to notable local and international publications.
Mr. Tahsin Shah - Former Director General National Police Bureau 2013 and Freelance Consultant on Police Reforms, Security and Terrorism
Mr. Shah joined the Police Service of Pakistan in 1981 and has attended the Anti-Terrorism Programme, Maryland Police USA in 1987. In 2003, he graduated as Senior International Police officers Command Course Royal Malaysian Police Academy Kuala Lumpur. Mr. Shah is a Fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education Programme and served as Senior Executive in National and International Security. He has also held the positions of Inspector General of Police Gilgit Baltistan (2009-2011) and Director General FIA (2011-2012).
Dr. Ali Hasanain - Associate Professor and the Chair, Department of Economics, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, LUMS
Dr. Hasanain is currently working on a field experiment investigating the impact of improved police-community relations as part of EGAP’s Metaketa IV; a project studying improved information in the used car market in Pakistan in collaboration with the country’s leading car marketplace, PakWheels. He is building a database of Pakistan’s news media that has currently archived 1.6 Million English language newspapers in the country. He is also a member of Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP) as well as various Pakistan-based research organisations, and a faculty advisor at the LUMS Technology for People Initiative (TPI). Dr. Hasanain is also the Pakistan country coordinator (and one-time participant) of the South Asian Economics Students Meet (SAESM).
