ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi expressed concern over the backlog in Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs), and emphasised the importance of expediting ATC cases to ensure justice is not delayed.
A meeting of the administrative judges of ATCs was held on Thursday at the Supreme Court, Islamabad. The meeting was chaired by chief justice, and attended by monitoring judges from Supreme Court Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail (via video link), Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Mussarat Hilali, Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and monitoring judges of ATC courts and prosecutors general from all the provinces and the ICT. The meeting was also attended by the registrar Supreme Court and the secretary Law and Justice Commission.
The meeting was told that a total of 2,273 ATC cases are currently pending in Pakistan, with a significant portion—1,372 cases—awaiting resolution in Sindh alone.
The meeting reviewed the performance of ATCs and took stock of key challenges to ensure the swift and efficient dispensation of justice in anti-terrorism cases. Key challenges facing ATCs were discussed, including: Ensuring adequate security for witnesses, facilitating online appearances for witnesses, Establishing and enhancing Forensic Scientific Laboratories (FSL) to support evidence-based decisions, creating additional ATCs to manage high caseloads effectively.
The chief justice issued specific directions that forensic scientific lab (FSL) Sindh to extend help to Balochistan in operationalisation of FSL labs in Quetta. He further directed that the ATC judges completing their term in ATCs should be accommodated on soft positions. He announced that outperforming ATC judges must be accommodated in foreign trainings with the support of Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan.
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