KARACHI - The Sindh government has decided to bring five new bills in the next session of the provincial assembly including bills to provide free legal assistance, abolition of interest from the province, establishment of Sindh Law and Justice Commission and others.

The decision was taken in the meeting of the provincial law department headed by the Minister for Law Affairs and Prison Ziaul Hasan Lanjhar. The meeting was also attended by secretary law and home, district and session judge Shahid Shafeeq, member high court inspection team Abdul Razzaq, additional advocate general Sindh and others.

Speaking regarding the bills, the minister said that the first bill would be regarding provision of free legal advice to the needy and less salaried people. He informed that special centres would be established for the purpose where legal experts would provide free legal advice to the people.

The other bill would be regarding out of the court settlement in petty issues whether criminal or civil in order to not only dispense speedy justice to the masses but also lessen the burden of the judiciary.

The courts would be entitled to penalize those who register fake cases in less time period.

The minister said that the lower courts established under this law would be supervised by the district and session judge and magistrate. He said that the basic aim of establishing these courts is to resolve the cases and issues of the poor people of the province on priority basis. “Such courts are also established in other countries of the globe and are helpful in dispensing early and speedy justice.”

The secretary law Justice Retd Aslam Jaffery said that the people should get justice on priority basis and justice delayed is justice denied.

“Majority of the lawyers try to linger on their cases and extends date of their cases,” he said.

Giving details of the third bill to be tabled in the provincial assembly, the minister said that it is aimed at establishing Sindh Law and Justice Commission which would comprise of Chief Justice Sindh High Court, provincial law minister, advocate general Sindh and a parliamentary committee.

The fourth bill relates to complete abolition of interest from the province and those who would not implement on it could be imprisoned upto 10 years.

Speaking regarding the bill to abolish interest from the province, the minister said that it is impossible for a poor person to pay interest on the actual amount. “The poor people are found committing suicide over failure to pay interest,” he said adding that this give relief to the masses.  The fifth bill is titled as Sindh Prisons Act 2018 which is aimed at changing the jail manual of the prisons.