Court problems - In lieu of a loo: people deprived of facilities

Gilgit courts lack toilets, drinking water, and even a shed to stand under.

GILGIT: Hundreds of lawyers and their clients have to face difficulties on court premises in Gilgit on a daily basis due to the absence of basic facilities.

“There are no toilets or shelters for lawyer and their clients on court premises,” Musrat Jamal, a lawyer of the lower courts told The Express Tribune on Wednesday. He added that people visiting courts did not even have access to clean drinking water. People are forced to drink tap water from nearby hotels, raising health hazards associated with contaminated water.

Save for the Supreme Appellate Court, the superior court of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Chief Court, Anti- Terrorism Court and other court buildings are located in Kondodas in Gilgit, but all are without basic facilities. “More than 500-700 people are forced to drink this unclean water daily,” Jamal said, adding that absence of public washrooms is yet another issue affecting them.

Farooq Ahmed, another lawyer, criticised the lack of adequate security in the courts, saying that the risk of target killings in the court premises cannot entirely be ruled.

“Though the recent security measures taken by the government are good, we think more vigilance is needed to prevent any further killings near the courts,” he said, referring to the incidents that occurred near the court buildings a couple of months back. He said that the issue can only be settled if the judges themselves take notice.

Ahmed added that the court premises also lacked an appropriate common shelter to protect against rain or bad weather.

Another lawyer, standing nearby, joined in, “These issues have been brought to the notice of concerned officials time and again but all those requests seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.” He added that the government needed to constitute a body to look into such affairs.

Mohammad Jan, a visitor, said that the plight of people is getting worse as there no basic facilities in the court area. He demanded provision of basic facilities for them on an urgent basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2010.