Azad Kashmir Spectator

LONDON, March 11 (APP)- Azad Kashmir Police has decided to establish an overseas police complaint cell for the British Kashmir Diaspora to deal with their grievances.The decision was announced by Tarik Khokhar, Inspector-General, Police, Azad Kashmir, while addressing a community meeting at Slough on the outskirts of London last evening.The IG who is currently on an official visit to the UK on the invitation of the Home office and Metropolitan Police, has met members of Kashmiri and Pakistanis communities in various cities of the UK to know first-hand their grievances from the police administration in Azad Kashmir.
Khokhar told the meeting that he was fully aware of the problems faced by expatriate Pakistanis including cases of kidnap for ransom, police heavy-handedness, lack of response, tribal-oriented litigation and targeting of the overseas Pakistanis by the criminal gangs including some rotten apples from within the police services.
He told the community that the decision to set up the cell was taken on the demand of the expatriate community members.

“The Complaint Cell has been established in the Central Police office (IGP Office), Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir to receive process, inquire and redress the complaints of the overseas community on a fast track basis,” Khokhar told the meeting.
He said that the Complaints cell will be monitored and supervised directly by the Inspector General of Police, AJK, and managed by the Personal Staff Officer (PSO) to IGP on daily basis.
Khokhar also informed the community of the serious problems the police force in AJK was facing due to the economic situation of Pakistan and the lack of funds.
He said with a shoe-string budget the police was doing everything to perform their duties in the best possible manner and to serve the communities.
He informed how the police wants to map all the major AJK cities with CCTV cameras to keep an eye on criminal elements who take advantage of the lack of modern surveillance technology.
He also informed of the plans to set up small mobile units at the grassroots level in major cities to create a better and direct policing interaction with the local communities.
He appealed to the communities to also assist the police in improving its operations, not through monetary grants but taking interest in neighbourhood and community projects in collaboration with the police.
The IGP invited the community to interact with the AJK police to create a better sense of things and to improve the situation at every level of the policing.