THATTA: Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh of the Sindh High Court on Monday performed the ground-breaking of the Thatta campus of the Judicial Academy.

Former Supreme Court judge Khilji Arif Hussain, Thatta District and Sessions Judge Abdul Naeem Memon, Sujawal Deputy Commis­sioner Shahzad Fazil Abbasi, SSPs of Thatta and Sujawal and a large number of judges and lawyers attended the ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony and later to the media, the chief justice directed the district administration to prepare the PC-I of the campus’s boundary wall.

Exhorting the lawyers’ fraternity, judges and law teachers to work hard for promoting education at all levels, CJ Shaikh noted that Thatta had once been the centre of education, art and literature as it had rich cultural and archaeological treasures belonging to various ancient civilisations. There had been several hundred educational institutions including universities in Thatta and many of them offered education of high standards, he said, adding that students from other countries used to come here to seek education and knowledge.

This part of the world produced great personalities like Makhdoom Hashim Thattvi, Shaheed Doolha Darya Khan, Sufi Saint Shah Inayat Shaheed and many other saints and scholars who had their last abode on this soil, he said.

The chief justice stressed the need for benefiting from the teachings, philosophies, literary works and gallantry of such great personalities by promoting academic activities and establishing institutions for learners and knowledge seekers.

Separately, addressing judges and lawyers at a gathering held in the committee hall of the Thatta District Bar Association, Chief Justice Shaikh urged them to play their due role in ensuring betterment of society through education. “By putting in collective efforts, we can definitely achieve the goal of improving the system and standard of education in this district,” he said.

He told them that they should visit educational, as well as health and other government institutions of their respective areas frequently. “If you spare at least two days in a week for such visits, this will bring about an improvement in their working, hence in society, within a short span of time,” he said.

The chief justice said that the law books required by lawyers of this district would be provided to the bar’s library within the next two weeks.

He also promised that the additional sessions judge of Sujawal would be delegated the powers to grant pre-arrest bail in the interest of the general public.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2017