Prosecutors’ conference: Speakers discuss need to restore public trust in judicial system

Flaws and inconsistencies in the provincial and federal legislation highlighted.

KARACHI:

There is a need to strengthen the prosecution services in Pakistan to restore public trust in the judicial system and the law enforcement agencies, said Hans Juergen Paschke, the consul and deputy head of mission of the German Consulate Karachi.

He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the 4th Senior Prosecutors' Conference in Karachi on Thursday. The conference was organised by the Criminal Prosecution Services of Pakistan in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), that is, the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation. Punjab prosecution services secretary Nadeem Irshaad Kiyani presided over the conference.

Addressing the issue of worsening law and order situation in the city, Paschke said that prosecutors and law enforcement agencies are under tremendous pressure as they are losing trust of the masses. "They need to improve their credibility and restore trust among people by enhancing the prosecution services," he said.

The aim of the conference is to provide a platform to prosecutors to discuss federal and provincial laws, propose amendments and prepare recommendations for legislators to strengthen the prosecution services.

Paschke said that he hopes that if judicial officers and prosecutors from across Pakistan discuss the issues facing them, they can come up with viable solutions to improve the overall judicial system in the country.

He promised Germany's support to the Pakistani authorities for ameliorating the various sectors, including the judicial system and law enforcement, in the country.

The GIZ principal adviser to prosecution services of Punjab, Christoph Harsdorf, said that prosecutors faced immense difficulties in prosecuting the accused before the judiciary because of various technical and legislative problems. He spoke about the importance of witnesses and evidence among other issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2014.