Oath-taking ceremony: ‘State organs must work within constitutional limits’

Haripur District Bar Association welcomes new judges.

HARIPUR:

All state organs must work within their constitutional limits to ensure that people’s problems are addressed, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief justice Justice Dost Muhammad Khan said while addressing an oath-taking ceremony of newly inducted judges at the Haripur District Bar Association on Thursday.

The chief justice said the senior judiciary has been working hard to ensure speedy justice to the people at their doorstep. To this effect, he said the plan to launch mobile courts in remote areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will be made functional across the province by 2014 and senior lawyers will also be engaged for mobile courts.

Khan said revenue officers, particularly patwaris and tehsildars are responsible of 60 per cent of the litigation in courts, for which reforms are being introduced. He added that the reforms will also ensure that land transfer deeds are only completed after approval of a judicial magistrate.

He said the establishment of a judicial academy at the provincial level would help develop professional capacities of lawyers, judges and jail administration as the training they would receive will be of an international standard.

Speaking about the lawyers’ movement, he praised the role of the media and civil society in the restoration of deposed judges, adding that their joint struggle with lawyers had “successfully defeated the dictator”.

He said that media, civil society and lawyers have always sacrificed for democracy and supremacy of the constitution in the country.

The chief justice expressed grief over the killing of three lawyers in Karachi. He said according to the Supreme Court’s decision,  federal and provincial governments are responsible for ensuring protection of life and property of all citizens.

Justice Yaya Khan Afridi, Justice Azmatullah Malik, Justice Khalid Mehmood, Deputy Inspector General Hazara Dr Muhammad Naeem and Commissioner Hazara Khalid Umarzai were also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2012.