ISLAMABAD: In a groundbreaking ceremony at the Supreme Court on Thursday the foundations was laid for a dedicated public facilitation centre designed to place litigants and citizens at the very heart of judicial service delivery.

Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Chairman of the Court’s Building Committee, performed the ceremony in the presence of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, fellow Justices, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, representatives of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and officers from the Capital Development Authority (CDA), NESPAK and the Supreme Court administration.

Speaking on the occasion, CJP underscored that “litigants are the pulse of judicial reform,” stressing that every touch point must be respectful, seamless, and located “under one roof.”

CJP noted that while many services already exist, their dispersion across different wings had burdened the visitors. The centre will therefore consolidate filing counters, certified-copy desks, information kiosks, and facilitation booths into a single, citizen-centric hall, supported by modern technology integration such as bio-metric queue management, self-service e-kiosks, and real-time case-status displays.

The Registrar, Mohammad Salim Khan, highlighted that the project originated from Justice Mandokhail’s vision to remove physical hurdles and create an accessible interface between the public and the Court. NESPAK architects presented a brief overview of the design, which features barrier-free access, a digital helpdesk, and a comfortable waiting lounge.

The CDA has committed to establishing a dedicated bus stop and shuttle connection, ensuring smoother transit for visitors arriving from across the capital.

Appreciating the building committee’s milestone achievement, CJP expressed confidence that the facilitation centre will “translate constitutional promises into everyday convenience,” reaffirming the Supreme Court’s resolve to harness technology for faster, fairer, and more transparent justice.

He further announced that the public facilitation centre is scheduled to be completed within two months, marking one of the fastest civil works turnarounds in the Court’s history. Construction begins immediately, with phased service migration planned to minimise any disruption to ongoing court business.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2025