LAHORE:Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Aamir Zulfiqar Khan on Monday said that women police officers as an integral part of Punjab Police were being appointed in various districts from the positions of SHOs, in-charge investigation to District Police Chief.
He said that the recruitment quota of women in the police force would be increased by 25 percent and the posting quota of women SHOs would also be enhanced according to the district.
He expressed these views while speaking at the first Provincial Women Police Conference at Al Hamra Hall.
Aamir Zulfiqar Khan said that the ratio of women in the population of Punjab province was high, while the representation in the police force was low, so this deficiency would be overcome soon.
The IGP said that problems of women police employees were well understood so all possible steps would be taken to solve them.
He directed all the RPOs, DPOs to identify the problems of women police officers and personnel and said that he would interact with the lady officers and discuss their problems during his visits to units and districts.
Aamir Zulfiqar said that the appointment of women officers on supervisory positions in the field had achieved good results, so women who were part of the police force should also prefer to work in the field instead of offices.
He said that departmental issues including transfer posting and leave of women police personnel would be resolved on priority basis and they would be given equal opportunities for professional career growth along with male officers.
Addressing on the occasion, Chief Secretary Punjab Abdullah Khan Sumbal said it was commendable to organize Provincial Women Police Conference for highlighting problems of women police officers and officials.
He said that such programmes could not only draw attention to the important problems faced by the force but also help in formulating a plan of action to solve them.
The Chief Secretary said that the Punjab government was ready for all possible cooperation to solve the problems of women police officers.
On the occasion, different speakers expressed their views about the problems of women police officers and personnel. SSP Nida Umar Chatha gave a presentation on the establishment, objectives and role of the Women Police Council, after which a thought-provoking session was held to identify the problems and difficulties faced by women officers and personnel.
In the second phase of the conference, a session was held on the topic of Gender Inclusive Policing, which was chaired by the former chairperson of the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women, Fauzia Viqar.
Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal while concluding the conference appreciated Punjab police for organizing the event and assured the support of Punjab government in gender mainstreaming of women in police at all levels.
He said that more resources would be allocated to support gender sensitive initiatives of Punjab police.