THE chief justice of Pakistan is making efforts to put the judicial system on the right track with the aim of eradicating corrupt practices. One wonders what is stopping the heads of various ministries, departments and organisations from taking a cue, and doing something similar in their respective spheres of influence.

There has been rampant corruption in registrar, sub-registrar offices that have the powers to register title documents relating to residential, commercial and industrial properties. Hundreds of thousands of rupees are illegally collected every single day by the staff of these offices from prospective buyers of properties.

A chunk of this amount goes in the pockets of various people within the said offices, whereas the larger proportion goes to their masters. This corrupt exercise has been in vogue

for decades, but the Anti-Corruption Establishment, whose basic responsibility is to crush such unlawful activities, acts like a silent spectator.

A high-powered committee comprising former judges of apex court, eminent lawyers and public representatives should be formed to chalk out a compre-hensive plan to eradicate corrupt and unlawful practices from within society, especially from government depart-ments. Once ready, the plan should be implemented immediately and efficiently.

Hasan Afzaal
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2023