IT is said that two-thirds of the world’s population is outside the law. That is, it does not have access to any judicial system to resolve its disputes with fellow citizens or with the government. However, there are societies where the justice system is so mismanaged as if it is non-existent. Though Pakistan has a fine cadre of judges, its judicial administration is extremely exasperating to say the least.

Dr Zafar Arif, an academician from Karachi somehow unwittingly got entangled in the MQM related quagmire for which his friends and family are witnessing a nightmare. He has been imprisoned for about four months without any recourse to courts or justice. His hearing for bail has been postponed under one pretext or another — the no-show of the police officer or the lawyers, the absence of the judge, the failure of the police officer to submit incriminating documents, etc.

The February 16, 2017, trial date was the only hearing when Dr Arif’s bail application could have been adjudicated since the judge, the lawyers, the police were all present. But guess what happened on this rare occasion? The case file went missing and once again the hearing had to be postponed. The next date is February 23.

Additionally, in a previous hearing Dr Arif was given B-Class jail by the court. But for weeks this order could not be handed over to the jail superintendent for compliance. As a result, Dr Arif, who is a doctor of philosophy, is lodged in the same shabby and unhygienic conditions designed for petty criminals. Dr Arif suffers from congestive heart failure whereby only 30 per cent of his heart is working.

Ali Warisuzzaman

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2017