ISLAMABAD  -  Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi Thursday expressed concern over the backlog in the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs), and emphasized the importance of expediting ATC cases to ensure justice is not delayed.

A meeting of the Administrative Judges of Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATC) chaired by Chief Justice was held at the Supreme Court, Islamabad and attended by monitoring judges from Supreme Court Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail (via video link), Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and monitoring judges of ATC courts and Prosecutors General from all provinces and ICT. It was also attended by Registrar, Supreme Court and 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 participants 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 ATC courts 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 ATC courts to manage high caseloads effectively.

The Chief Justice issued specific directions that forensic scientific lab (FSL) Sindh to extend help to Balochistan in operationalization of FSL labs in Quetta. He further directed that the ATC judges completing their term in ATC courts should be accommodated on soft positions. He further announced that outperforming ATC judges must be accommodated in foreign training with the support of Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan.

The Chief Justice desired the Attorney General for Pakistan, along with the Prosecutors General of each province, to take up these issues with their respective governments. He called for swift and coordinated action to address the infrastructure and resource needs of ATCs, which are essential for delivering timely and fair outcomes in anti-terrorism cases.

Meanwhile, in order to improve service delivery and access to justice, Chief Justice of Pakistan has initiated diagnostic study for design and execution of short and medium-term strategic interventions.

A dedicated team of professionals from various fields, with passion to work pro bono, has undertaken functional assessment of the available resources, effectiveness of existing court processes and systems and the challenges and opportunities. This exercise will be followed by finalization of a workable reform plan with timelines and impact assessment mechanism.

The proposed reform interventions focus on reduction of cases backlog, improved accessibility and transparency through simplification of process, technological integration and public centric approach, by exploiting the available resources and the existing legal framework. Prioritization of cases involving marginalised segments of the society and high impact cases would be the key feature of the reform interventions.

Stakeholders’ engagement, throughout the design and implementation process is being taken care of. Initially, professionals from diverse backgrounds, court staff and other key players of justice sector, including Bar, are being involved for meaningful input. The strategic plan would be put to public debate and feedback before its finalization.