May 22, 2002	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 8,1423

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PESHAWAR, May 21: Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Khalid Ranjha on Tuesday said that party-based elections would be held in accordance with the time-frame given by the Supreme Court.

“There should be no doubt about the general elections as the government is fully committed to the deadline given by the apex court,” Dr Ranjha told the Peshawar district bar.

Within a week, he said, a law would be introduced following which the court of sessions would also work as the court of human rights. “The government has already amended section 491 of the Criminal Procedure Code and now a habeas corpus application can be filed before the district and sessions judge,” the minister added.

He informed the lawyers community that the new law would give exposure to the sessions courts and help them in resolving people’s problems at their doorsteps. Small causes courts, he added, would also start functioning in near future, which would help settle petty cases at the earliest.

He said the government, for the first time, had introduced human rights as a subject at the graduation level, which would help create awareness among the young lawyers about the issue.

Referring to the demands of the bar put forward by association president Sher Afghan, the minister said that there should be a statutory grant for the bar. Dr Ranjha recalled that during his stint as law minister of Punjab he had introduced statutory grants for different bars so that these associations should not request visiting guests for donations.

He asked the accompanying provincial law minister Ather Minullah to take initiative in cooperation with the bar and the NWFP Bar Council. The minister added that under the Bar Council Act the government was bound to provide funds to the council.

Dr Ranjha said that they would receive $300 million from the Asian Development Bank for improving courts and bar. “Within a period of three years you will have a model bar association in the provincial capital,” he added.

Earlier, Dr Ranjha called on NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah and discussed various matters of mutual interest.