Islamabad, August 16, 2022 (PPI-OT): Speakers at a seminar have said the alarming situation in the country has once again highlighted the need for long-awaited police and judicial reforms which are necessary for a healthy society. The present system has failed to deliver and a complete overhaul has become necessary to ensure a responsive, robust and quick strategy for a just and less expensive mechanism.
Speaking at a seminar organized by Alpha Think Tank (ATT) Pakistan, titled, “Police and Judicial Reforms, they said that many people have lost faith in the police’s ability to help the victims of crimes. Police investigation takes a painfully long time because of a lack of motivation and supervision by superiors, they said, adding that the want of human resources to confront a large number of cases is also a serious problem.
The prosecution is also highly frustrating, there are long delays, and repeated adjournments caused either by the absence of lawyers, parties or the non-availability of the presiding officers, resulting in frustration, they said. The speakers noted that the judicial processes take years, sometimes generations, because of the broken system that does not meet the criteria of quick justice and that the weak dispute resolution mechanism hampering economy.
The accountability of courts in cases of long delays or the incorrect interpretation of law hardly exists and there is hardly any supervision over the conduct of judicial officers. An institution that deals with the cases of millions of people every day must have built-in mechanisms to ensure that delays don’t occur and cases are disposed of on merit.
A ruler dismantled the institution of District Magistrate and Sub-divisional Magistrates, which were suited to the conditions of South Asia. That system operates with success in neighbouring India and Bangladesh even today. The lack of timely completion of criminal cases causes anger as it benefits the culprits. The rate of convictions in criminal cases is one of the lowest in the world, which is hardly four percent and the rest get the benefit of the doubt, said Group Country Head of United International Group Dr. Murtaza Mughal.
If urgent actions are not taken, public anger would soon be overwhelming. Without exemplary punishments, the rising wave of crime cannot be controlled, he added. The speakers included Chief Justice (retd) Anwaarul Haq, IG (retd) Dr. Kalim Imam, former federal secretary Sarwar Khan, Barrister Muaz Shah Fareeha Idrees, President ATT Rashid Kamal and Chairman ATT Chairman Farasat Latif, Chairman Pakistan Economy Watch Brig (retd) Aslam Khan and Group Country Head of United International Group Dr. Murtaza Mughal.
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