ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: An additional sessions judge and a civil judge will adjudicate cases to reduce backlog, reportedly 16,000, during summer vacations of the district courts.

The record available with nine judicial officers, who were appointed one-and-a-half years ago, indicates that the number of cases had increased rapidly in recent years. The population of the capital was estimated a little over 200,000 in 1980 when seven courts of the capital used to deal with the legal disputes.

At present, the capital’s population is over 700,000. However, just two judicial officers have been appointed by the government, that too primarily to deal with family disputes.

It might be noted here that in the wake of the growing backlog of cases, the Chief Justice Committee, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Shaikh Riaz Ahmad, had directed the government to appoint new judicial officers as per requirement in each city.

The government has sent a summary to the Ministry of Finance about the appointment of four new judges, which is still undecided.—PPI