Authority on cards to help poor litigants

Ministry of Law and Justice has constituted a committee to draft terms of reference of the proposed authority

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government plans to set up a central legal aid authority to provide free services to those litigants who cannot afford to defend their legal rights due to financial constraints.

In the regard, the Ministry of Law and Justice has constituted a committee to draft terms of reference (ToRs) of the proposed authority and propose necessary legislation to be passed by parliament.

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Dr Farogh Naseem on Tuesday chaired a meeting of this committee, said an official handout issued by the ministry.

The panel discussed recommendations for setting up a new legal aid mechanism for the poor and vulnerable segment of society, it added.



Dr Naseem suggested constituting sub-committees at provincial levels to provide free legal aid to deserving litigants who might otherwise not be able to defend their genuine interests due to limited financial resources.

The proposed Legal Aid Authority would work under the supervision of the Ministry of Human Rights.

The proposed legislation would be placed before the committee and relevant stakeholders for a review while a core group of lawyers will be nominated to work on pro bono basis for ensuring implementations of the proposals.

Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari, and other officials of the law ministry also attended the meeting.