June 28, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 27,1424

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RAWALPINDI, June 27: Arrangements have been finalized for setting up a modern courts complex near the old jail building, sources told Dawn on Friday.

The chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain, is likely to inaugurate the long- awaited project on July 6, the sources said.

The Punjab Revenue Department has already allotted 87 kanals to the LHC on lease for this purpose, that also includes 82 kanals where the police training institute for constables is located. This institute is likely to be shifted near the Sihala Police Training College, the sources said.

The district and sessions judge, Dost Mohammad Khemta, and president of the District Bar Association, Mohammad Ilyas, have already visited the project site.

The project will be launched with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Besides, some amount will also be allocated for the project from the Chief Justice High Court’s Special Fund.

The citizens and lawyers had complained that they had to face inconvenience as some courts including that of the special judge central court, banking court, national accountability and anti-narcotics courts were located far away in various parts of the city.

With the construction of the judicial complex, this problem will be solved as all the courts will be housed in one building. The sources said the number of civil and sessions courts were likely to be increased in the new complex. The present number of courts is not enough to handle the ever-growing ratio of civil and criminal cases in the city, they added.