\u2018No more high-handedness\u2019
\nPunjab chief minister demands respectful treatment of citizens, public accountability
\nLahore
\nPunjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Sunday ordered comprehensive police reforms, demanding an end to corruption, high-handed behaviour, and the disrespectful treatment of citizens, while directing the Inspector General of Punjab Police, Rao Abdul Kareem, to prepare short, medium, and long-term reform plans with clear timelines.
\nAddressing senior police officials, including IG Kareem, the chief minister said that starting today, all police officers must address citizens respectfully as \u201cSir\u201d or \u201cSahib\u201d and maintain professional conduct in all interactions with the public.
\n\u201cFrom today onward, whatever has happened in the past is over. If anyone engages in corruption, action will be taken. If anyone takes a bribe, action will be taken. If anyone lies, action will be taken. If anyone fudges figures, action will be taken,\u201d she stated.
\nMaryam directed the IG to hold an online meeting with all District Police Officers (DPOs) immediately to issue new instructions, clearly defining the \u201cdos and don\u2019ts\u201d for officers on patrol, at checkpoints, and in police stations.
\n\u201cNo more grabbing someone by the neck and throwing them to the ground,\u201d she said, referencing a recent incident during a cricket team\u2019s arrival. \u201cWhile providing security, we must also care about the dignity of ordinary citizens.\u201d
\nMaryam emphasised the need for accountability at all levels, criticising a culture of denial within the police and district administration. \u201cTo this day, whether in district administration or police, no one has ever told me, \u2018Yes, this was our mistake,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cUntil we stop hiding mistakes, we cannot improve.\u201d
\nThe chief minister highlighted the success of recent traffic law enforcement, noting that over 90% of people now wear helmets, leading to a 70% decrease in head injuries and deaths according to hospital data. \u201cIf you enforce the law indiscriminately, people will follow it. The fault lies within us \u2013 in implementation and enforcement,\u201d she noted. Addressing concerns about police staffing, she questioned the efficiency of the force. \u201cThere are 700,000 police personnel, yet we are told there is a shortage. 2,000 personnel in CCD once maintained law and order across Punjab \u2013 so what are the remaining 698,000 doing?\u201d
\nFurther, the CM approved Rs1.7 billion for duty officers at police stations equipped with panic buttons and recording systems, emphasising that officers must be equipped with body cams so that they know that everything is being recorded and cannot take bribes, act high-handedly, push someone, or abuse them.
\nShe ordered immediate refresher training for front-line officers dealing directly with the public and called for the introduction of community policing, citing Japan\u2019s successful model of involving college and university students.
\nWomen\u2019s safety
\nOn female security, Maryam made it clear that ensuring safety for women across Punjab was a non-negotiable priority. \u201cIt must become a code of ethics in Punjab that no woman, whether in a market, a street, on public transport, in a university, college, or workplace, public or private, should feel unsafe,\u201d she stated.
\n\u201cIf any daughter, mother, sister, or child feels unsafe in Punjab while I am here, it is a failure of all of us,\u201d she added, directing police to take special measures and expand mobile police stations to reach women in rural areas who cannot access regular police stations due to stigma.
\nChild abuse
\nThe CM demanded strong action against child abuse, whether sexual or physical. \u201cChild abuse, whether sexual or physical, in educational institutions, seminaries, or homes, must be met with such a strong reaction from police and government that no one dares to harm children,\u201d she said, while also calling for parental accountability in cases of negligence.
\nThe CM also emphasised the need to protect children from stray dog attacks and open drains through both enforcement and parental responsibility.
\nPublic accountability
\nMaryam stated, \u201cMy principle of governance is that if praise is public, punishment must also be public. Only then will people trust the system.\u201d
\nShe directed police leadership to publicly identify and remove corrupt officials, saying citizens should see both reward and punishment delivered transparently. \u201cWe all answer to God and to the public, whether it is me, the IG Punjab, or any other officer,\u201d she said.
\nTraffic and road safety reforms
\nThe CM ordered strict enforcement of helmet laws, lane discipline, and school transport regulations. \u201cThere is no lane discipline in Punjab. Motorbikes, rickshaws, and buses all drive in the middle,\u201d she noted, directing coordination with transport and district administration to establish proper lane markings, especially in major cities.
\nShe also called for promotion of pedestrian crossings and education on zebra crossing usage to prevent accidents, pointing to a morning incident where eight children were injured in a school transport accident.
\nForensic capabilities
\nEmphasising proper crime scene handling, Maryam directed that forensic science laboratories be utilised effectively and that the Lahore forensic lab be linked with facilities across Punjab to ensure evidence preservation and prevent tampering.
\nThe chief minister concluded by requesting a video of the police leadership\u2019s reform meeting and expressed hope that \u201cfrom tomorrow I begin receiving good news from the Punjab Police.\u201d
\n\u201cWe are there to serve the people, not to intimidate them,\u201d she said, adding that only criminals should fear police, while ordinary citizens should feel confident approaching them for help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018No more high-handedness\u2019 Punjab chief minister demands respectful treatment of citizens, public accountability Lahore Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Sunday ordered comprehensive police reforms, demanding an end to corruption, high-handed behaviour, and the disrespectful treatment of citizens, while directing the Inspector General of Punjab Police, Rao Abdul Kareem, to prepare short, medium, and long-term …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":85112,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93764,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93744\/revisions\/93764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}