Firm convictions: US makes donation for Sindh’s prosecutors

KARACHI:

The office of the Sindh prosecutor received a donation of $150,000 in computers, furniture, and other office equipment on Thursday from US Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero. 

The donation was made at a ceremony held during Otero’s participation in a five-day seminar, “Case Preparation and Trial Advocacy Skills” for 35 Sindh prosecutors. The equipment will be placed in all 60 Sindh prosecutor district offices, said a press release from the US consulate in Karachi.

The seminar is the fourth such trial skills seminar held by the US department of justice and the US Embassy’s Office of Narcotics Affairs for Sindh prosecutors. Otero commended the prosecutors for their efforts, noting that the Prosecutor’s office can become a model organisation for Pakistan. Prosecutor General Malik Shahadat Awan thanked her for the support and the United States for sending nine Sindh prosecutors on out-of-country study tours to attend specialised courses in combating money laundering, counter-terrorism, and trial advocacy.

The US government’s Sindh prosecutors’ training programme seeks to provide the prosecutors with the necessary knowledge and capacity to screen, analyse, and handle cases from their inception to the verdict.

By improving case preparation and presentation, Sindh’s prosecutors seek to increase the number of criminal convictions in the province. press release

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th,  2011.