Lawyers to make justice accessible to public

Pilap aims to work with the public to defend their rights

KARACHI: For a country where a petition is filed in the year 1998 and its second hearing is called only last Monday, one must observe a moment of silence for the access of justice.

This point was raised by Jameel Yousuf, a member of the audience, during the question-answer session at the seminar held on Public Interest Law as a tool for social transformation in Pakistan on Monday. Members of the legal fraternity and civil society debated various topics such as public interest, welfare, education, health and societal well-being at the first public convention of the Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan (Pilap) since its inception in 2012.

Pilap president Saad Amanullah Khan said that people in general were not aware of their rights and laws. "Pilap is working hand in hand with the public to defend their rights and promote their interests," he explained. "Our aim is to make Pilap a resource of justice for the people, for which we are working with the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee."

Dr Amjad Waheed, a financial expert, shed light on Articles 25A and 37B of the Constitution that deal with educational laws in the country. "The priority for governments today is no longer the provision of education but to do corruption as much as they can during their tenure in government," said Waheed.

Justice (retd) Athar Saeed of the Supreme Court shared some of his personal experiences in his capacity as a judge.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2014.