NJPMC meets today as lawyers call for urgent reforms to ‘safeguard judicial independence’
ISLAMABAD:
As all Chief Justices will meet on Thursday (today), legal experts believe the biggest challenge for the higher judiciary is to curb the growing influence of the executive over it.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi has been systematically holding meetings of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC), a body comprising all chief justices of high courts. The committee reviews the performance of the courts, as well as the implementation of various reforms.
However, since the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the executive has been playing a crucial role in making key decisions within the judiciary.
According to reports, most of the appointments and transfers of judges in different high courts are done at the will of the government. Despite strong opposition, the CJP could not stop the transfer of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges to different high courts.
Likewise, no effort has been made to reduce the influence of the executive on the internal decision-making of the judiciary.
It is also observed that the current regime does not fully comply with the judicial orders of the higher courts.
In May last year, the Supreme Court held that civilians tried in military courts should have the right to appeal to higher courts. Despite the passage of more than a year, neither the executive has challenged the order nor taken measures for its implementation.
Curiously, there is complete silence in the judiciary regarding the non-implementation of this order.
Last month, the Supreme Court directed the IHC to decide applications filed by lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha seeking suspension of their sentences within two weeks. Despite the passage of a month, the IHC has not complied with the order. The case has also been adjourned indefinitely.
During its last meeting in April, the NJPMC announced it would host a national “Prison Reform Action Plan” conference in June to promote stakeholder engagement and policy dialogue as part of an inclusive reform process.
It is known that the conference will be held next month.
The higher judiciary is planning to organize the national conference on prison reforms at a time when former Prime Minister Imran Khan, through his lawyer, has alleged that he and his wife are being kept in “torturous solitary confinement” for almost 24 hours, without access to books, television, family or lawyers.
Barrister Taimur Malik, lawyer for several imprisoned political prisoners including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Ejaz Chaudhry and Dr Yasmin Rashid, said that while it is positive that a Prison Reform Action Plan is being considered, any such proposal would be inadequate if it does not address the timely fixing of inmates’ bail, suspension and appeal applications.
He further said that prisons across Pakistan are overcrowded and most of the problems that the reform plan seeks to address arise from this condition.
Malik said there is a need to reduce the prison population, adding that many prisoners who are under trial or those eligible for bail for bailable offenses could be released pending trial.
Similarly, inmates eligible for suspended sentences for reasons such as age or health could also be released to relieve pressure on the prison system.
He cited the example of Ejaz Chaudhry, who has been diagnosed with stage three kidney disease and whose health condition is not compatible with prison conditions, but whose suspension requests and appeals have not been scheduled for hearing.
He also highlighted that Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been acquitted in all cases in the last three years, but remains jailed due to a couple of outstanding bail issues.
Last year, the Supreme Court, headed by CJP Afridi, directed trial courts to conclude proceedings in 9 May cases within four months. Since then, hundreds of PTI activists have been convicted following that order. However, their applications for suspended sentences are still pending in the higher courts and they remain behind bars. Even political activists are still detained waiting for help.
Former Additional Solicitor General of Punjab Chaudhry Faisal Hussain said the problem today is not just judicial reforms but also the perception that the judiciary is at its lowest ebb and has failed to check the excesses of the executive.
He also said that despite two constitutional amendments, the process before the courts has not been reduced. Except for the Sindh High Court (SHC), no constitutional court has been established in other high courts, he added.
Another lawyer believes that civil liberties are not on the agenda of the current judiciary.
Commenting on the upcoming NJPMC meeting, Advocate Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar stated that the committee, being the apex policy-making body of Pakistan’s justice system, has a deep responsibility to strengthen and improve the delivery of justice across the country. He noted that while certain recent initiatives undertaken by the judiciary deserve recognition, the challenges faced by Pakistan’s judicial sector require deeper, coherent and comprehensive reforms at all levels of the judiciary.
He noted that despite a series of reform efforts over decades, public satisfaction with the justice system remains below the desired standard. Persistent delays in adjudication, increased case pendency, repeated adjournments, inconsistent case management practices, rising litigation costs, outdated procedural frameworks, and difficulties faced by ordinary litigants continue to erode public confidence in judicial institutions.
According to Khokhar, the NJPMC must go beyond routine monitoring and incremental adjustments and instead embrace bold, results-oriented solutions, including conclusive hearings at all levels aimed at addressing the root causes of systemic inefficiency. As a first step, he proposed a comprehensive and independent forensic audit of all levels of the justice system, including the Supreme Court, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), high courts, special courts, tribunals and the district judiciary.
