LAHORE, March 4: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Husain Chaudhry has said that steps have been taken to streamline courts' administration in the province.

Talking to reporters at a ceremony where three judges of the Lahore High Court were administered oath of office here on Thursday, the chief justice said the human rights situation in Pakistan was not as bad as portrayed by certain ill-informed foreign groups.

Justice Pervez Ahmad Malik, Justice Syed Sakhi Husain Bokhari and Justice Rustam Ali Malik were administered oath by the chief justice at a ceremony attended by judges of the high court as well as the newly-elected office-bearers of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), who were headed by bar president Ahmad Awais. By inviting them to the ceremony, the chief justice signalled an end to the tension between the bench and the bar.

Justice Chaudhry said the reports on human rights situation in Pakistan, recently issued by some foreign rights activists and groups, reflected their lack of information about the actual state of affairs.

He said that judiciary served as a watchdog on human rights and responded promptly as and when such rights were violated. But, he said, such incidents were hardly significant and did not portray a picture that could attract foreign investigation. He said the recent reports on this issue reflected how ill-informed their authors were.

He said the performance of Lahore High Court and subordinate judiciary in the Punjab would be described in the annual report. Replying to a question, he sounded hopeful of the future bench-bar relationship, and said both arms of judiciary were essential for effective dispensation of justice.

Advocate General Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi and other Punjab government law officers also attended the ceremony. Besides the LHCBA president, vice-president Syed Zulfiqar Ali Bokhari, secretary Azam Nazir Tarar, finance secretary Sarfraz Khan, Punjab Bar Council vice-chairperson Tanvir Randhawa, chairperson of council's executive committee Pervez Inayat Malik and a good number of other lawyers also attended the ceremony.

The new bar leadership has made it clear at the outset that it would improve its relationship with the bench. The ball was set rolling by a felicitation message from the Lahore High Court on new leadership's assumption of office on Wednesday.