Protests disrupt court proceedings

Backlog of cases rises to 9,063 in twin cities

RAWALPINDI:

The ongoing turmoil stemming from the arrest of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has severely disrupted court proceedings in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Due to security measures, none of the accused could be presented in district sessions and civil courts of the twin cities from the Adiala Central Jail in the past four days.

According to judicial sources, hearing of approximately 9,063 cases were affected by the unrest. They said hearing dates for the cases have been fixed without any hearing.

Sources said that until today (Friday), no accused will be brought to court from the jail due to the unavailability of prison vehicles.

Currently, these vehicles are being used to shift protesting workers of PTI.

Police personnel assigned to bring the accused from the jail to the court have also been assigned duties to arrest protesters.

According to the officials, only a few accused charged in terrorism and sedition cases are being brought to anti-terrorism courts. However, the situation is likely to return to normalcy by Monday, May 15.

Also in other districts of the Rawalpindi division, under-trial prisoners could not be presented before courts due to the unavailability of police personnel.

The hearing of all cases where the accused have been arrested and locked up in jails has been suspended. Additionally, the closure of roads due to protests has further impeded the mobility of people to reach the courts on time.

Judicial sources have stated that civil magistrate courts normally hear 100-120 cases daily, while session courts hear 40-60 cases. The suspension of hearings of thousands of cases has created a major backlog that will take time to clear.

The District Bar Association President Faisal Khan Niazi stated that the situation has persisted since May 9. He expressed his hope that the situation will improve and return to normal on Monday. He said the situation has also caused severe problems for lawyers.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2023.