Individual accountability: Think before you vote, says PHC CJ Khan

Asks legal fraternity to start radio show advising masses about basic rights.

PESHAWAR:


Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Dost Muhammad Khan has stressed that voters preparing for the upcoming elections think carefully about what leadership they would want in power.


Addressing guests of an awards ceremony at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy (KPJA) on Saturday, he said that it was necessary for everyone to reflect on who they wanted in power as the country’s survival was in their hands.

Khan added that despite Pakistan having an anti-corruption department and a national accountability bureau, state institutions had become victims of corruption. “Things still go unchecked, which is why we have become the 7th most corrupt nation in the world,” CJ Khan said.


“There is a vacuum in the country,” he said. “The judiciary is doing its best to counter corruption but other elements of the state need to support it as well.”



CJ Khan also stressed on the importance of judicial officers to offer speedy justice to save time and money of litigants who often reach outside their means for legal aid. He stressed on the importance of education and said if parents save money in courts they would be able to spend more money on sending their children to school.

The newly-trained session judges and public prosecutors at the KPJA were asked to aid this process. He further suggested that they start a radio show to inform people about their basic legal rights.

KPJA Director Hayat Ali Shah said that so far 75 people had been trained and that LLM classes were to be added to the syllabus.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2012.
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