ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday (today), Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa will convene a meeting with representatives from the Pakistan Bar Council and the Supreme Court Bar Association to discuss strategies for addressing the substantial backlog of cases awaiting resolution in the top court.
PBC Vice Chairman Haroon Rashid confirmed that CJP Faez Isa, who assumed office on Sunday, is convening a meeting on Wednesday (today) to discuss issues related to the administration of justice.
The meeting agenda includes deliberations on forming benches, handling pending cases, ensuring swift justice delivery, and scheduling hearings. Additionally, they are seeking proposals for expediting urgent cases. Currently, the Supreme Court has about 57,000 pending cases.
Previously, the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan regularly updated statistics on pending cases. However, during former CJP Umar Ata Bandial’s tenure, who also chaired the Law and Justice Commission, these statistics were removed from the website.
The judiciary faces criticism for a substantial backlog of cases, exceeding two million in superior and lower courts.
PBC Vice Chairman Rashid suggested that the apex court could address this backlog by establishing more benches. He noted that there are currently two or three regular benches to handle cases, occasionally four or five. With the existing resources, the CJP could create six regular benches to reduce the backlog. He also expressed hope that Justice Isa would streamline the Supreme Court’s operations for faster case disposal.
Separately, the Pakistan Bar Council condemned the filing of a case against advocate Akhtar Hussain. The PBC statement highlighted that Hussain faced charges for protesting against state institutions during a peaceful demonstration against significant inflation. The PBC deemed the registration of the FIR against him as illegal and unjust.
