CHARSADDA: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim on Friday sought support of lawyers for reducing pendency of cases.

Addressing the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected cabinet of Charsadda bar association, he said lawyers were integral part of the justice system, and without their active support the issues affecting the system could not be addressed.

The chief justice said thousands of cases had been pending before around 600 judges across the province.

He pointed out that around 286,000 cases had been pending before the district courts across the province, out of which, 208,000 (73pc) were pending in 11 districts, which also included Charsadda.

He expressed his resolve to take measures for minimising suffering of the litigants and also to provide facilities to them on court premises.

The chief justice said they had set up specialised benches of the high court for dealing with particular nature of cases.

He added that the specialised benches had delivered encouraging results and helped minimise pendency of cases.

Justice Ibrahim assured the lawyers that steps would be taken for solarisation of courts in Charsadda and improving video link and library facilities there.

The chief justice said the police should also refrain from registering unnecessary cases, which also resulted in increasing burden on courts.

Earlier, the chief justice administered oath to the cabinet members, including its president Iltaf Khan, general secretary Alamzeb Khan and others.

Charsadda district judge Asif Khan and other judicial officers also attended the ceremony.

In his welcome address, Iltaf Khan highlighted the need for improving the video link facility on the premises of the courts to help save precious time of lawyers as well as judges.

He assured his all-out support to the chief justice and the judiciary for expediting disposal of pending cases.

The district judge and the bar president presented shields to the PHC chief justice.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2024