I know not when justice and mercy will start dwelling in this land of ours
ISLAMABAD: It’s a truth nationally acknowledged that access to justice is often beyond the reach of the poor and underprivileged because of cost and distance, among other factors. Free, or what we call state-provided legal aid, is often not available, especially in rural Pakistan. Even where there are legal aid offices and lawyers, the vast majority is located in the federal and provincial capitals and other major cities, and often fail to reach rural populations. Moreover, citizens based in remote areas lack the resources to travel to a city to access formal legal and judicial institutions, and must overcome other costs such as filing fees associated with using the formal justice system. In addition to these obstacles, citizens may also choose not to use the formal justice system because procedures are cumbersome, requiring multiple court appearances to resolve minor disputes, or citizens may simply perceive that courts consume time and lawyers do not facilitate expeditious delivery of court justice. Thus, for one reason or another, significant portions of the population in Pakistan today are unable or unwilling to use the formal court system to resolve their grievances.
Above all, poor implementation of court decisions by the people in governmental authority who lack justice and compassion, discourages justice seekers to come to the courts. Unfortunately, this situation, which is non-enforcement of laws and decisions, did not develop yesterday; it has been there for ages. I know several such organisations that are being run without employees’ service rules in which orders of the past successive bigwigs were not implemented. Those who gave orders completed their tenure and retired but their orders remain unhonoured. In this country, callousness controls every heart and mind and like many others, I know not when justice and mercy will start dwelling in this land of ours.
Hashim Abro
Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2017.
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