LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday directed Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Inam Ghani to utilize all resources to protect the lives and property of citizens. Chairing a meeting on the reform and performance of the Punjab Police here, the prime minister emphasized the use of modern technology to control crime. Imran Khan emphasizes solving citizens’ problems based on merit and taking decisive action against officials who create obstacles on the road to justice.
The prime minister regretted that political appointments were made in the police during the previous regime, which adversely affected the department’s performance. He said nothing had broken the law and asked police personnel not to give in to political influence or pressure. He said police treatment on an equal and legal basis would result in citizen satisfaction and asked IGP Punjab to focus on improving the image of its department.
The prime minister said appointing honest officials to important positions had implications from the top to the grassroots level, and called for merit-based deployments and transfers only to ensure dispensation of justice.
He said catching big criminals warns minor offenders to refrain from engaging in crimes. IGP Inam Ghani briefed the prime minister on the progress of reforms related to the Punjab Police and informed him that a proposal on the financial autonomy of the police station and a reconciliation board mechanism had been submitted to the chief minister.
The prime minister expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the chief secretary of Punjab and IGP. The Chief Minister of Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar and Special Assistant to PM Shahzad Akbar attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan said because 60 percent of the country’s population was involved in the agricultural sector, its promotion and development in modern channels was the government’s top priority.
He directed the Punjab government to formulate a separate comprehensive action plan for the value chain for each agricultural product to increase agricultural productivity and capacity. The prime minister chaired a meeting on increasing agricultural productivity and value chains in Punjab.
The prime minister pointed out that apart from addressing basic food security issues, the agricultural product value chain must be fully focused. He further emphasized for the formulation of a comprehensive strategy with a schedule in which agricultural productivity could be tripled from the current level.
Meanwhile, while chairing a meeting on the start of a new labor inspection regime in Punjab, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that starting a new labor inspection regime was a good initiative that would help promote small and medium-sized industries in addition to strengthening the country’s economy.
The prime minister directed Punjab’s Minister of Labor Ansar Majeed Khan Niazi to ensure the protection of workers’ rights under the new labor regime and there should be no compromise on this.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar met in Lahore and discussed the situation of the province as a whole.