ISLAMABAD, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Saturday lauded the contributions and sacrifices of the police force for maintaining law and order in the country and stressed upon the need of change in attitude to improve the image of the force.

He was addressing the 7th annual conference of former Inspector Generals of Police (AFIGP) who had served the police force for decades. The annual event was organized by the Association of Former Inspectors General of Police (AFIGP).

The prime minister while expressing his deep appreciation for the police force for maintaining internal order, said that it was a sacrosanct duty and no society could afford chaos as anarchy was unacceptable.

He said that the police force was the custodian to protect them from that anarchy and had been serving as the frontline force from sepoy to officer to protect the society.

While referring to the functioning of the force, the caretaker prime minister suggested that they required deep introspection as to how to further improve the situation and the image of the force.

“Changes can come with change in attitude and not by mere changing the uniform,” he opined.

Appreciating the sacrifices of police force, the prime minister said that they owed a lot for this force and particularly referred to the sacrifices of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan police besides other provinces.

Recollecting the sacrifice of Shaheed Commandant FC and IGP KP Safwat Ghayur, he said that he had hardly seen an iconic figure like Safwat in the country.

“If he had been alive, he would have been my leader and I would have been his follower,” he added.

The prime minister observed that two noble professions in the country were mistreated including nursing and police, adding that they needed to rebrand them by providing resources and infusing confidence in them.

That brand was more important indicating that self-esteem associated for doing any sort of job was significant, he added.

He said the police force cleaned the filth and dirt from society and were the chosen and noble ones as they were protecting their children.

The prime minister said that they needed to address the issues which led to issues of mistreatment of the police force.

He narrated the issues faced by two families of martyred police officials who had approached him and regretted that they were not treated in the manner they deserved and also cited Shabana, a police personnel martyred in Swat.

The caretaker prime minister also emphasized upon the need to understand the local challenges and discourse over the effective legal framework.

He said about 90,000 people had been killed in the country in the fight against terrorism and highlighted the importance of effective legislation to counter the security issues.

The prime minister said that with a state of confusion, you ought to falter and fail and clarity in carrying out any business was important.

The prime minister also suggested strengthening of institutional bondage within the police force and further increasing of welfare programmes for the police force.

Earlier, former IGP Kaleem Imam said that the association was formed in 2015 with 250 members. A total of 7800 personnel laid down their lives for the peace and security of the country. About 15 allied departments of the police force were serving the people, he added.

Other speakers said that rapid changes of security posed a challenge for the police force. Terrorism was posing an existential threat which should be countered by utilizing the latest technological gadgets.