Government wants to grant police prosecution powers
Home Minister Umar Naseer says the government is planning to grant police the authority to prosecute petty crimes in a bid to speed up long-pending criminal trials. The opposition has labelled the move an attempt to jail dissidents.
04 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Home Minister Umar Naseer says the government is planning to grant police the authority to prosecute petty crimes in a bid to speed up long-pending trials on simple offences. The opposition, however, has labelled the move an attempt to jail dissidents.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the police force’s 83rd anniversary on Sunday, Naseer said: “Forty years ago, if someone commits a petty crime, the state issues a ruling within 48 hours of the incident, through a court. However, we are now seeing delays in some trials.
“I intend to undertake reforms in the next year to speed up access to justice and the criminal justice system.”
The criminal court has been criticised for delays in prosecution, with Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed ordering all courts to clear backlogs last year. The criminal court’s annual report for 2014 shows that over 1000 cases remained pending at the start of 2015. Some 530 cases were between a year and three years old, while 246 cases dated back to five years.
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