PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Syed Mohammad Attique Shah has underlined the importance of a state-of-the-art judicial academy in the province, stating that there is critical need for the capacity building of all the stakeholders of justice system.

The PHC chief justice was addressing a special meeting of the Board of Governors (BoG) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy in connection with establishment of the academy’s campus in Regi Model Town, Peshawar.

The meeting was also attended by senior puisne judge Justice Ijaz Anwar, who is vice-chairman of the BoG, Justice Syed Arshad Ali, who is administrative judge/adviser KPJA, PHC registrar Mohammad Zeb Khan, KPJA director general Jehanzeb Shinwari, administrative secretaries of different government departments and other relevant officers.

The PHC chief justice, who is chairman of the BoG, emphasised that people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had long awaited realisation of fair, inexpensive and expeditious justice.

Campus of KP Judicial Academy to be set up in Regi Model Town

“Such delivery is contingent upon robust capacity-building, which in turn depends on a modern learning environment, the one that a fully equipped judicial academy can provide,” he said.

He said that federal government, through facilitation of chief justice of Pakistan, would provide the requisite funding for the project. He stressed the need for a phase-wise approach with defined timelines for each component of the project.

He said that each phase of implementation should be time-bound and stakeholders would be required to adhere to strict schedules to ensure timely completion of the project.

Earlier, Jehanzeb Shinwari apprised the forum about the background, present status and the proposed roadmap of the project.

He said that the idea of a dedicated judicial academy campus was conceived as early as 2012 and 150 kanals of land was subsequently allotted by Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) for the purpose.

He stated that the project was formally approved in 2022, during the 23rd meeting of Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP), at a cost of Rs791.741 million. He added that recently, Rs648.5 million had been disbursed by provincial government and paid to PDA.

The board unanimously decided that master plan and detailed architectural design by the consultant and vetting as well as approval of PC-I including cost estimates of the project, by the consultant and communication and works department, would be finalised within three months i.e. till Sep 23, 2025.

Meanwhile, pursuant to the decisions of BoG, Jehanzeb Shinwari, Mohammad Zeb Khan and other officials of the academy visited the site. They were accompanied by additional director general, Regi Model Town (RMT) PDA, Himayatullah Jan and estate manager of PDA Abdul Wahab.

Possession of 150 kanals of land in Zone III Education Complex of RMT was handed over to the judicial officers.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2025