ATCs inside prison: Expedite work on new courtrooms, orders Justice Muslim

KARACHI:

The monitoring judge of the Supreme Court for the anti-terrorism courts (ATCs), Justice Amir Hani Muslim, directed on Saturday the provincial authorities to expedite the construction of new courtrooms inside the Karachi Central Prison, so that the 10 existing ATCs could be relocated there at the earliest.

Justice Muslim issued these directives while heading a meeting to review the performance of ATCs in Sindh and construction of the new ATCs in Karachi and other provinces.

The acting Sindh High Court Chief Justice and the monitoring judge in Sindh, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, the home secretary, the prosecutor-general and others also attended the meeting held at the SC’s Karachi registry branch.



Later, the SC’s judge visited the site where new courtrooms are being built inside the Karachi Central Jail compound and inspected the ongoing construction work.

Last week, the SHC’s monitoring judge, Justice Shah, had met the prisons IG and directed him to ensure that work on three courtrooms inside the prison was completed at the earliest.

In April this year, the home department had notified shifting the 10 ATCs from the Sindh government’s barracks adjacent to the Sindh High Court to the building of the Municipal Training and Research Institute (MTRI) in Clifton.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2015.