Karachi: Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali said on Saturday that Pakistan was in the midst of internal and external terror threats and the authorities must take extraordinary steps to end the crisis that erupted after the 9/11 attacks.
He was addressing the foundation stone-laying ceremony of a complex building that will house 10 anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) in the Central Jail Karachi.
The chief justice said the establishment of 10 anti-terrorism courts was the key to dealing with the menace of terrorism.
He said that several tragic incidents of terrorism had taken place in the country that led to the loss of many innocent lives and even lawyers, judicial officers, law enforcers and government functionaries were under threat.
He was of the view that an improved and secure environment would enable the judges to provide speedy and inexpensive justice.
He appreciated the Sindh government for providing funds to construct the ATCs in the central prison, and expected that trial courts would be shifted by December 2016.
He hoped that the provincial government would also make arrangements to construct homes for the judicial officers of the ATCs.
Such courts should be established in all other provinces, he said.
The 10 ATCs will be completed in the central prison by December 2016 at an estimated cost of Rs120 million.
On the occasion, Supreme Court judges Amir Hani Muslim and Mushir Alam were present along with Chief Justice Sindh High Court Justice Faisal Arab and other judges of the high court.
A day earlier, addressing an annual dinner function hosted by the Sindh High Court Bar Association at the Sindh High Court’s lawn, the CJP had said that supremacy of the constitution was the judiciary’s responsibility.
He stressed the need for activating the process of self-accountability in the judiciary as well as in the legal fraternity.
The chief justice made it clear that matters in the Supreme Judicial Council would be dealt with strictly in a transparent manner.
He said that there was no deficiency in the present judicial system but only that some people involved in the process of the system did not perform their duties with due responsibility.
The chief justice said that unnecessary delays in the disposal of cases were not only a social issue but also a challenge for the judicial system.
