December 14, 2017: CODE PAKISTAN held a round of consultations with lawyers of the KP Bar Council in Mansehra today. The consultations with KP Bar were held with an aim to get the lawyers’ perspective on the high number of under-trial prisoners and how to address overcrowding in prisons with special reference to high pre-conviction detention. The consultations were part of the nation-wide study being conducted by CODE PAKISTAN to identify the causes and consequences of high numbers of under-trial prisoners (UTPs) leading to overcrowding in Pakistan’s prisons and coming up with a thorough assessment of the criminal justice system with regard to delays in the processing and adjudication of cases. CODE PAKISTAN is conducting the said study on the formal request of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), which is mandated to implement the National Action Plan (NAP), unanimously agreed upon by the political leadership of the country in December 2014. Revamping of the criminal justice system is the 20th point of NAP. CODE PAKISTAN’s study will be dovetailed to NACTA’s efforts in conducting research on Point 20 of NAP mentioned above.
The consultations commenced with an introduction to the project on addressing overcrowding in prisons in Pakistan by President CODE PAKISTAN Mr. Dilawar Khan, who established the relevance of the project as an offshoot of point 20 of the National Action Plan (NAP) 2015 for the revamping of the criminal justice system led by the Ministry of Interior. He briefed the assembled lawyers on the activities conducted in consulting the various stakeholders of the criminal justice system – including the police, prosecution, judiciary, lawyers and prisons – until then in hopes to note down and collate the challenges revealed by the stakeholders and present them in a single codified document.
With the table open for discussion after Mr. Khan’s introduction, the issues of prison infrastructure inadequacies, resource constraints of the police, the plight of women and their accompanying children in prisons, denial of bail at various stages of the trial, training needs of the lawyers and the judges, and investigative shortcomings came under discussion during the consultations.
Other participants of the consultations included Mr. Shah Jehan Khan Swati Advocate, Chairman Rules Committee KP Bar Council; Mr. Basharat Ahmed Khan, President District Bar Association Mansehra; Mr. Sabir Hussain, KP Bar Member; Mr. Saeed Ahmad Shah Mashadi, Advocate Chairman HR Forum; Mr. M. Azam Khan, Advocate High Court; Mr. Mubih M. Salim, Advocate; Mr. Waqar Ahmed Khan, Advocate; Mr. Azmat Nawaz Khan, Advocate; Mr. Shujaat Ali Khan, Advocate; Mr. Muhammad Javed, Advocate; Mr. Zia M. Khan, Advocate; Mr. Naseem Khan, Advocate; Mr. M. Muzaffar Khan, Advocate; Mr. Iftikhar Ahmed Tanoli, Advocate; Mr. Sardar Wajih ul Mull, Advocate; Mr. M. Usman Afridi, Advocate; Mr. Ghulam Muhammad Tanoli, Advocate; Mr. Mian Aamir Shah, Advocate; Mr. Muhammad Fayaz Khan, Advocate; Mr. Taj Muhammad Awan, Advocate; Mr. Avais Nisar, Advocate; Mr. Shah Nawaz Asim, Advocate; Mr. Tashfeen Aziz, Advocate; Mr. Siraj Muhammad, Advocate; Mr. Zulfiqar Sultan Khan, Advocate; Mr. S. Waleed Hussain Shah, Advocate; Mr. Sardar Waqar, Advocate; Mr. Aqeel Sarwar Tanoli, Advocate; Mr. Mubaraq Shah, Advocate; Mr. M. Javed Khan Swati, Advocate; Mr. Ishtiaq Khan, Advocate; Mr. Muhammed Adil, Advocate; Mr. Mohsin Ali Turk, Senior Advisor CODE PAKISTAN; and Ms. Saba Imran, Director Programs CODE PAKISTAN.