PESHAWAR, Dec 1: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan on Saturday said corruption in government institutions had alarmingly increased despite the presence of so many anti-corruption institutions.

He was speaking at the concluding ceremony of a training workshop for judicial officers and public prosecutors.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy organised the event in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme.

Justice Dost Mohammad said several institutions had been set up to curb corruption including National accountability Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency and Anti-Corruption Establishment but they failed to alleviate corruption.

He said the judiciary was striving for establishing the rule of law, providing relief to the people and had been playing its role in saving the system.

The CJ asked the judges of subordinate courts that the people had shown trust in the judicial system and it was up to the judges to maintain that trust by giving just and impartial decisions.

He said unless the rule of law was established and all segments of society were equal before the law, the situation could not improve.

Justice Dost Mohammad said unjust and unfair treatment to the poor and weak people was bound to push the entire society into disarray.

He announced that the judicial academy would launch its FM radio station within a month and that would help create public awareness of their rights and legal issues.

The chief justice said the radio station would specially prove beneficial for women and children, who were vulnerable groups in the society.

He said a recent Global Corruption Report had declared Pakistan the seventh most corrupt country in the world that was very shameful disclosure.

He said unfortunately, influential people had been looting taxpayers’ money and therefore, there was a need to deal with such people with an iron hand.

Justice Dost Mohammad said corruption could be alleviated by establishing the rule of law in real terms.

He said if people avoided luxuries and began living simple life in accordance with Islamic teachings, the level of corruption would decrease.

The chief justice hailed the performance of the judicial academy and said in short span of time the academy had imparted trainings to scores of judicial officers.

He said the academy would soon become a leading training institute of the country.

“This judicial academy is unique compared to other academies as it has been imparting training to all those attached to the criminal justice system, including judges, prosecutors, probation officers, police officials and lawyers,” he said.

Earlier, Director General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy Hayat Ali Shah shed light on training courses offered by the institution.