PM Imran orders police to take indiscriminate action against lawbreakers as there’re ‘no sacred cows’

Inaugurating the newly-constituted "Eagle Squad" of Islamabad police comprising 100 motorcycle-bound officers, said the rule of law prevails only when everyone is equal in the eyes of the law."  

"Have mercy on the poor, but punish lawbreakers," the premier advised the police force.

وزیراعظم عمران خان نے آج سیف سٹی ہیڈ کوارٹرز اسلام آباد کیا اور اس دوران ایگل اسکواڈ کا افتتاح کیا۔

وزیراعظم نے شہر کے تحفظ کے حوالے سے سیف سٹی کے انتظامات کا جائزہ لیا۔ اس موقع پر وزیراعظم کو تفصیلی بریفنگ بھی دی گئی۔ pic.twitter.com/ZslyKeFrFW

— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) June 16, 2021

Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed had briefed the premier about the squad as an extension of the Safe City Project. The government has allocated Rs300 million for the project.

Addressing the gathering, Imran Khan said the job of police is to enforce the law, but the law enforcement doesn’t mean to only send a poor man behind bars. 

“The police is supposed to ensure law enforcement. The law enforcement does not mean to put only poor vendors in jail. You should rather be lenient to them but strict to the powerful law violators,” the prime minister said.

"جدید ٹیکنالوجی کو بروئے کار لانا نہایت ضروری ہے،"

وزیراعظم عمران خان کا ایگل اسکواڈ کے افتتاح کی تقریب سے خطاب pic.twitter.com/wSm4RygAm3

— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) June 16, 2021

“Police should show mercy to the people who earn daily wages and common people, and should take stern action against a powerful person when they break the law.”

"No country can have peace and prosperity where common citizens are dealt with a heavy hand by the law, while people in power get off easy," he said.

The prime minister vowed to establish the rule of law in the country, saying "might is right is the law of the jungle".

He said only the societies with rule of law could prosper and repeatedly cited the Hadith calling for uniform laws and indiscriminate action against the criminals.

"We are not actually progressing. In the past, when a Pakistani president went to the US, his counterpart received him, when he went to UK, the queen gave him a reception, and we haven't been able to reach that point again as we have not taken action against the powerful people," he said.

Features of police project

The project worth Rs29 million consists of training 500 police personnel who, while being on duty, would carry primary weapon of MP5 and Glok Pistol 9mm as the secondary weapon.

The bike patrol would also be equipped with LTE sets, and could be GIS mapped and GPS based positioned.