ISLAMABAD: Chief Ju­­stice of Pakistan (CJP) Ya­­hya Afridi, who also chairs the Law and Justice Com­mission of Pakistan (LJCP), on Thursday expressed co­­ncern over the lack of ba­­s­ic judicial infrastructure in remote areas and stresses the need for targeted, citizen-centric interventions to bridge regional disparities in access to justice.

The CJP was presiding over a high-level review meeting of LJCP in Pe­­sh­awar to assess ongoing initiatives aimed at strengthening judicial infrastructure and enhancing public facilitation, with a partic­u­­­lar focus on underserved and remote districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The chief justice und­erscored that future judicial infrastructure must integrate modern facilitation centres for litigants, with particular emphasis on gender-responsive and women-friendly facilities.

The forum was briefed on nationwide initiatives being implemented under the Access to Justice Development Fund (AJDF), administered by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan. Bar rooms within judicial complexes have been formally included as beneficiaries of core interventions, including solarisation, e-libraries, water filtration plants, and women-centric facilities identified through stakeholder consultations.

It was informed that province-wide coverage in KP entails an estimated cost of Rs688 million. Of this, LJCP has allocated Rs390m from the AJDF and Grant-in-Aid, while the remaining funding gap is to be met through provincial support.

The meeting was also apprised on the concept of “Sukh da Vehra”, a one-window integrated family and women facilitation ce­­ntre to be established wi­­thin or near judicial complexes. The PHC chief justice briefed the forum about the establishment of Family Court Blocks in Pe­­shawar and Swat and proposed the replication of similar facilities, titled “Da Sar Soury”, at divisional headquarters.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2025