Reforms in Justice system of Pakistan

A Study of 2018 Manifestos of Pakistan’s Political Parties1

An effective justice system is deemed to be an
essential component for a civilized society. A poor
justice system often reflects and leads to instability,
ineffectiveness and arbitrariness and cause
polarization, disharmony, and intolerance in society.
The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan
envisions and commits for establishment of a
democratic State based on Islamic principles of Social
Justice.2 Article 4 of the Constitution unequivocally
pledges the protection of law for every citizen and the
right of every citizen to be treated in accordance with
law while Article 10-A declares fair trial and due
process as a fundamental right.
In practical terms, however, the justice system of
Pakistan could not ensure the constitutional ideals.
From its role as a deterrence till the satisfactory
disposition of justice, there are numerous aspects and
issues that call for reform. Even in the apex court, the
number of cases pending determination is alarming.3
For this reason, there seems a growing realization and
debate among all stakeholders for overhaul, reforms
and improvements in justice system. Judiciary,
legislature, media and political forces often talk about
justice reform as an overdue agenda. The manifestos
of political parties contesting elections in 2018 have
also made commitments in this regard. There seems
consensus on broad terms among all major political
parties of Pakistan, though with their distinct
approaches and plans of actions. They acknowledge
the significance and need of reform in justice system
of Pakistan and pledge to overhaul it through their
respective plans. The manifestos of PML(N), PTI,
ANP and MQM provided for detailed scheme on
justice system under distinct headings and paragraphs
whereas PPP and MMA manifestos briefly yet
strongly emphasize rule of law and reforming or
overhauling justice system.
Following are the main issues related to justice system
highlighted and addressed by political parties in their
2018 manifestos.
Overall Vision: The vision of PML-N for judicial
reforms emanates from its interpretation of history,
according to which ‘Pakistan’s checkered political
past and the inability to have sustained democratic
governance’ disillusioned legal reform process has led
to diminishing rule of law. (p. 58) The party, therefore,
broadens the scope in its manifesto and envisions legal
reforms to ensure ‘justice at doorstep’ for every
citizen.
PTI manifesto refers to the party name to maintain that
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (the Movement for Justice,
Pakistan) was envisaged to establish a just and
equitable society’ on the model of Islamic state of
Madina. The manifesto delineates principles of justice
and egalitarianism as core foundations of the Party

1
This brief is part pf a larger study being conducted at IPS to understand the national mood in light of the approaches of
various Political Parties, participating in the elections 2018, on important subjects related to the National Agenda. The
political parties included in this review are: Pakistan Muslim League (N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s
Party (PPP), Awami national Party, (ANP), Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and Mutahidda Qaomi Movement (MQM)
2
Preamble, The Constitution of Islamic republic of Pakistan, 1973
3
34,903 cases were pending before the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 21 May 2017 as per the recent SC report. Supreme
Court of Pakistan, Annual Report June 2016-May 2017, (Islamabad: Supreme Court Of Pakistan, 2017) 46
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(p.7). It identifies laws and procedures in Pakistan as
weak, archaic, ineffective and their weak
implementation as cause of delays in case resolutions.
It further recognizes ‘capacity constraints’ as major
reason for a case backlog. (p.13)
ANP manifesto counts ‘strengthening the democratic
and political process, rule of law and access to justice’
as one of its priorities. (p. 2) Citing the popular phrase
‘justice delayed is justice denied’, ANP maintains that
inordinate delays in civil and criminal justice system
could be mainly attributed to police and courts’
callous indifference to the needs of citizens. It
proposes to remodel and reform the whole structure of
the justice system in accordance with the democratic
people’s aspirations to win their greater confidence in
the justice system.’ (p.5)
MMA manifesto envisions making the Qur’an and
Sunnah as the supreme law of the land for establishing
Nizam-e Mustafa in Pakistan. It wishes shariah rule to
prevail in every sphere of life, which definitely means
the substance of the law as well as its procedure. It
aims to establish justice system of Islam. (p.3) MQM
manifesto pledges free, independent and impartial
judiciary. (p. 19) PPP has not specifically talked about
the justice system in its manifesto yet it envisions ‘a
peaceful, prosperous and progressive Pakistan’ and
there are certain clauses in the manifesto which relate
to the justice system and its improvements.
This brief review indicates that all major political
parties of Pakistan unanimously feel that the justice
system of Pakistan has major issues to be fixed. While
some have suggested reforms in the system, others
have asked for overhauling it. We shall further look
into the specific areas of concern for these political
parties and try to identify the highlights that might be
form basis for working coordination to bring about
real change in this significant area of national life.
Legislative Reforms: To reform the justice system,
various outdated and obsolete laws need to be
amended and updated according to the contemporary
needs of the society. Besides, there are areas and
issues which also require adequate legislation and
remove any contradictions in laws.
Among one of the priorities of the PML-N is the
respect and dignity of citizens, for which it vows to
amend and enforce the defamation laws. (p. 59) As a
measure to increase awareness of law among the
masses, translation of laws into Urdu has also been
proposed. (p. 59) In order to strengthen democracy, it
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plans to ‘introduce legislation to ensure apolitical, fair
and transparent accountability’. (p. 61)
Besides proposing to amend Civil and Criminal
Procedures to reduce procedural delays, PTI promises
‘to amend outdated laws’. (p. 13) As part of its counter
terrorism strategy, it pledges to take ‘immediate step
to reform the criminal judicial system and revise the
Anti-Terror legislations so that it is precise and
focused on terrorism.’ (p. 58) Reforming the federal
and provincial laws for protection of women and to
promote access to justice, is among the agenda of the
party. (p. 13)
ANP too intends to ‘reform and abridge the Criminal
and Civil Procedures. (p. 5) MMA had aimed at
establishing the justice system as per Islam’s guidance
and vows to introduce legislation in the light of
Council of Islamic Ideology’s recommendations. To
ensure full and equal accountability of rulers, elected
representatives, judiciary, army, and administration,
MMA intends to have further legislation to eliminate
corruption. (p. 3)
MQM promised to introduce ‘effective legislation and
implementation of strict punitive measures on torture
and excesses by police and other law enforcement
agencies, confinement without trial; and other
manifestations of discrimination and ill-practices in
the society. (p. 23)
Speedy Justice System and Case Backlog: Case
backlog in courts is identified as a major issue in
dispensation of justice by all stakeholders. Inordinate
delay in trial proceedings, due to multiple factors,
contributes to case backlog and eventually become a
big hurdle in access to justice.
Almost all major parties express their will to address
the subject on priority basis. PTI Manifesto pledged to
‘launch a judicial reforms program that will provide
speedy and quality justice for all citizens’. It intended
to resolve backlog of existing cases ‘through
providing necessary resources and tracking systems’.
The Manifesto also provided for amending civil and
criminal procedures and other outdate laws to reduce
procedural delay and to ensure access to justice (p.
13). Further, it provided for improving the operational
performance of courts and introducing Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa (KP) model of alternate dispute
resolution in the whole country. (p. 14)
PML(N) Manifesto expressly provided for
expeditious justice system and vowed to bring speedy
justice at the doorsteps of communities and villages by
establishing local People’s Courts (Awami Adalat).
(p. 58) It vows to limit adjudication time to one year
especially for cases affecting the life of common
citizens. Among the measures for speedy justice are
reducing case backlog through promotion of alternate
Dispute Resolution, establishing new courts and
introducing evening courts, appointing additional
judges, and simplifying procedures’. (pp. 58-59)
PPP manifesto indicates to ensure speedy justice
particularly in cases related to terrorism through
initiation of judicial reforms for transition to civilian
authority of matters arising from the lapse in tenure of
military courts’. (p. 48) ANP proposed to ‘remodel the
whole structure of present civil and criminal justice
system’ through implementation of necessary reforms
in justice system. (p. 5) Similarly, MQM manifesto
vows for ‘elimination of delays in delivering justice’
and bringing comprehensive judicial reforms to
address the issue of ‘non-trial or inordinate delays of
cases’. (p. 20) MMA manifesto thinks out of the box
to enhance the role of masajid to act as community
centers to act for conciliation, unity and social reforms
in society. (p. 7)
PTI manifesto promises to establish ‘gender-based
violence courts to provide additional protection and
speedy resolution to women victim’. (p. 23) PPP in its
manifesto pledges for establishing ‘Differently-abled
Tribunals’ to protect the rights of differently-abled
people, prosecute the people and institutions violating
their rights and ‘to provide speedy justice in cases of
discrimination’. (p. 16) ANP commits for establishing
a separate ‘Constitutional court” for taking up
constitutional cases and ‘mobile courts to ensure
access to justice to people living in remote areas’. (p.
5)
Independence of Judiciary: In the society where
relations among the parties to a dispute can be
asymmetric, the independence of judiciary acts as a
core component of justice system. A weak judiciary
cannot uphold the principles of fairness, equity and
neutrality. This realization features prominently in the
manifestos of national political parties.
MMA manifesto promises ‘independence of judiciary
and rule of law’ (p. 3), while MQM that would
otherwise be regarded in a difference camp from
MMA, too intends to struggle for independent,
impartial and autonomous judiciary for justice and
rule of law. (p. 13)
Police Reforms: Police forms a very crucial
component of justice system and is generally seen as
an institution that compromises the principle of justice
and fails to safeguard the rights of the people. Police
reforms are very significance part of reforms in justice
system and require political parties’ resolve and
commitment.
ANP manifesto talks on the subject in detail. It
commits to ensure independence of Police under
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democratic control; introducing quality standards,
functional specialization and provision of modern
technology; professional and international standards
of police training; improved technical skills to raise
investigation capacity; setting up more forensic
science laboratories with highly educated and trained
staff; improved coordination between Police and
Judiciary to end unnecessary delays in investigation;
raising Police stations standards and capacity and
upgradation of Police salary and benefits, residential
facilities and transportation. (pp. 5-6)
MQM manifesto also discusses the issue in some
detail. It provides for ensuring merit in recruitment,
training and posting of police officers without political
interference; introducing community policing;
revising and amending laws regulating police
functions to incorporate the concepts of district Public
Safety Commission and Police Complaint
Commission; (pp. 13-14). It also looks forward to put
an end to torture and excesses by law enforcing
agencies through effective legislation. (p. 23)
PTI wishes to replicate its experience in KP during its
tenure as provincial government from 2013 to 2018
for improvements in police system. Additionally, it
promises increased representation of female police
officers at police stations for reporting and
investigation of complaints of gender-based crimes.
Even in general terms, PTI intends to improve
investigative and prosecutorial process for gender-
based violence. (p. 23)
Prosecution Reform: Prosecution department also
needs reforms, better training and equipment to ensure
that the guilty gets punished and the innocent goes
unharmed. The manifesto of ANP pledges
independent prosecution; upgradation of prosecution
department and establishment of training academies
for the training of prosecutors to improve their
technical abilities. (p. 6) MQM too proposed
introducing ‘meaningful changes to the judicial and
prosecution system to ensure that people involved in
violation of laws are brought to justice’. (p. 13)
Prisons and Correction Services: Prisons have to be
the places of rehabilitation and reformation and note
merely the punitive premises. The manifestos of PTI,
ANP, and MQM commit for reforms in jail/prison
system. PTI aims to upgrade the existing
infrastructure and ensure that human rights of
detainees are not violated. PTI manifesto pledges to
upgrade existing infrastructure and establish separate
special juvenile detention centers and prisons for
women. It intends to ‘modernize parole rules with
necessary checks and balances to transform jails into
reformatories’. (p. 14)
MQM manifesto maintains to introduce ‘extensive
and effective jail reforms to reform the prisoners into
responsible citizens and to eliminate widespread
human rights abuses in jails.’ (p. 20) ANP manifesto
commits to reform the prison management to
correction services and management. It resolves to
introduce educational, sports, library, recreational and
medical facilities. It aims to provide a separate
treatment to under-treatment to under-trial, women
and juvenile prisoners. The manifesto also promises
to ‘build new Correction Centers and high security
prisons for under trial terrorists.’ (p. 6)
PTI in its manifesto has addressed another important
dimension. In its manifesto it promises to help and
provide consular and legal services to all Pakistani
prisoners detained in foreign territories. It vows to
make best efforts to bring prisoners like Dr. Afia
Siddiqui and others back to Pakistan. (p. 24)
Military Courts:4 The establishment of military
courts had obviously been a mechanism adopted under
special circumstances and does not therefore enjoy a
thorough consensus within the democratic setting of
separation of powers. No wonder, therefore, that PPP
had pledged to review and revisit the transparency,
performance and tenure of the military courts and
revert to strengthening civilian authorities of justice.
Further it promised to ‘initiate judicial reforms
necessary for the transition to civilian authority of
matters arising from the lapse in tenure of military
courts’. (p. 47) ANP manifesto does not specifically
mention the military courts but resolves to abolish the
parallel legal and quasi-legal systems and establish a
uniform, integrated judicial system. (p. 5)
Witness Protection and Security: Protection and
security of witnesses is an extremely important issue
related to justice reform. Culprits often resort to
jeopardizing the safety and security of witnesses,
which may lead to inaccurate assessment of facts and
flawed judgments in courts. ANP and MQM have
committed themselves to witness protection and
effective security in the judicial proceeding. MQM
manifesto states that it will ‘introduce and establish a
comprehensive plan for witness protection and give it
constitutional cover to encourage citizens to come
forward and record their statements without fear or
favour’. (p. 20) ANP pledges to ‘strengthen legal and
judicial systems and procedures for prosecution of
terrorism related offenses by providing effective
security to judges, prosecutors and witnesses’. (p. 5)
4
The speedy trial of civilian people by military courts in terrorism cases was approved through 21st constitutional
amendment in January 2015. After passing two years the tenure of these courts was extended for further two years till January
2019.
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Conclusion
Justice system is a concern for every member of
society and a pre-requisite for peaceful and
developing nation. The political parties of Pakistan
have rightly considered it a significant area of their
attention and have shown similar concerns and
intentions for the betterment and improvement of this
sector. Among the pledges and ambitions of the
political parties about justice system reforms in
Pakistan, following major ideas and thoughts can be
inferred.
• Delayed justice is obviously a general
concern and case backlog is considered a
major factor contributing towards it. Political
parties are concerned about the case backlog
and have pledge to address it. They have
suggested different measures to ensure from
police reforms to introduction of special
courts and witness protection to ensure that
each case gets an immediate attention and
satisfactory treatment without unwarranted
delays.
• Almost all the parties consider reforming and
improving legislative framework a pre-
requisite for ensuring justice. This realization
would need to be deliberated to specifically
identify the loopholes and to propose
potential solutions.
• There seems a concurrence among the parties
on establishing increasing the number of
courts and judges, introducing ADR and
quasi-judicial frameworks, establishing
special courts, and equipping the law
enforcing and adjudicating authorities with
necessary training and materials. These
claims and promises would remain abstract
and vague unless these political parties
develop these ideas into workable schemes.
The survey of major political parties would indicate
that despite all the differences and hard talk towards
each other, they agree that the justice system of
Pakistan urgently asks for reforms in all its
components. The ideas and suggestions may vary but
there is very limited area where a divergence may be
indicated. This, however, is a gigantic task for which
several stakeholders have to be taken onboard and
numerous details have to be worked out. This asks for
close coordination and engagement of political parties
and public representatives with each other.
Fortunately, the manifestos of these political parties
provide sufficient basis for a mechanism of
cooperation in which a representative committee with
working groups on various subjects may be
established and the reform process may actually be put
on a course.
Without going into making any recommendations in
this study, a basic and broad observation may be made
with respect to the emphasis of political parties on
remedial measures like better handling of cases,
whereas a comprehensive and careful strategy would
include strategies for social and governance reforms
to reduce the number of crimes and institution of
cases.

Prepared by:
Tauqeer Hussain
Research Officer
Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad.

For queries:
Syed Nadeem Farhat
Senior Research Officer
nadeem@ips.net.pk | www.ips.org.pk

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