THE Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Irshad Hasan Khan, is today the highest authority responsible for the administration (or maladministration) of our courts of law which dispense justice.

Lest someone should hasten to deem otherwise, this statement is not being made in this column in this newspaper with any intent to commit contempt of the Chief Justice, or of any other honourable justice of the Supreme Court, or of any court of Pakistan.

Considering that I stand charged with the offence of contempt of court by no less than a bench of 14 judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (including himself) to which offence I have pleaded 'not guilty', the Chief Justice of Pakistan has done me a singular honour by asking his registrar to send me a copy of the historic suo moto Order delivered by him and his brother judge, Justice Shaikh Riaz Ahmed, on August 10 2001, in the matter of 'On perusal of Pakistan Law Commission's Report No.22 on the Criminal Justice System'. In his letter, the registrar has written "This is a matter of great public importance and may be of some interest to you." It is, indeed.

The final paragraph of the order (34) reads: "The case being of great public importance shall be heard by a larger bench to be constituted by the Chief Justice. Meanwhile, notices shall be sent to the advocates-general of the provinces for a date to be fixed in office at an early date. The interior secretary, chief secretaries of the provinces, the home secretary, the advocates-general and the inspectors-general of police of the provinces shall appear personally and assist the court in the resolution of the above issues."

Considering the time it will take to issue notices,and fix a date when all summoned will be available to present themselves in Islamabad, it may well be that Justice Khan will by that time have attained his retirement age and it may be that his successor in office, Justice Bashir Jehangiri, who only has 25 days as Chief Justice, will also have departed as he attains the age of 65 on January 31,2002. He will be followed by Justice Shaikh Riaz Ahmed, who will hold the office of Chief Justice until March 2003.

With all due respect, I wonder if the honourable Chief Justice has had the time or occasion to read the report of our Human Rights specialist, I. A. Rehman, headed '4,500 languishing in death cells for 10 years', published in this newspaper on May 11, 2001.

According to Rehman, a count taken on March 13 this year discloses that over 4,500 fellow citizens are confined in the death cells of its prisons. Of these, 4,300 were in jails in Punjab. By now this number will have increased as the average rate of increase is 600 per year. Rehman's report laments the fact that a large number of these condemned prisoners have been rotting in their cells for many years. The appeals of 1,600 are pending in the High Courts, of which 1,300 have been pending for well over three years, some 300 for well over five years, and 10 for up to 10 years. In the Supreme Court 217 appeals have been pending, ranging from periods of three to 10 years. Lying in the President's secretariat are 40 mercy petitions which have been waiting there from between five to 10 years. Two appeals against the death penalty lie in GHQ; one has been there for five years, the other for 10.

As far as the mercy petitions are concerned, President General Pervez Musharraf recently declared to Karachi's CPLC chief, Jameel Yusuf, that no mercy petitions lie pending in his secretariat, so one must presume that the 40 have got lost somewhere between the federal ministries of interior and law.

This state of affairs is unlikely to shock or surprise anyone who resides in this Republic of Pakistan.

On January 18, 1999, in Lahore, a friend of artist Zahoorul Akhlaq walked into his studio, sat down, had tea and biscuits, then pulled out a gun and shot dead Zahoor and his daughter Jehanara, and severely wounded Jehanara's husband. The murderer was arrested, held in the police lock-up, later jailed, and in May 1999 court proceedings were instituted against him in an anti-terrorist court. The case was called 85 times, for one reason or another adjourned 55 times, heard 30 times, and the murderer was sentenced to death on May 9, 2001. Pretty swift, one might say.

The convicted man will now appeal to the High Court, then presumably an appeal will be made to the Supreme Court. Making a rough guess, this will take at least five years. If the man's sentence is upheld, he will file a mercy petition which will get lost somewhere in Islamabad and lie around for a further ten years or so. We are looking forward to around 2016 before the man knows whether he is to live or die, by which time it may be that the death penalty will no longer apply in this country.

Now take the case of the son of the former 'Lion of Punjab', Bilal Khar son of Ghulam Mustafa Khar. I distinctly remember being introduced to the 'Lion' by his trainer and benefactor, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in 1970. Bhutto was smoking a foot-long cigar, sitting on a silver-plated throne he had borrowed. That particular day two 'Lions' had called on him, one from Punjab and one from the Frontier, Mustafa Khar and Hayat Sherpao (later to be assassinated). Khar survived and thrived and succeeded in marrying (so far) ten wives and spawning a substantial brood of children.

One son, Bilal, also addicted to multiple marriages, picked up and married a beautiful dancing girl of Karachi. During their three years of marriage, the girl, Fakhra, was subjected to constant physical abuse and finally returned home to her mother. In April this year, Bilal walked into the mother's house, grabbed the girl's head, held it back and poured acid over her face and neck which dripped on to her arms and lower body. The incident received much publicity in our press and in the foreign press (lately, Time magazine of August 20). Bilal Khar, who nowhere on record has denied his deed, has not been arrested, and walks free to throw acid again. It is inconceivable that the Chief Justice of Pakistan is not aware of this incident. Should he not contemplate suo moto action against the police who should have dealt with this matter and of course against the perpetrator of the crime? The man should be tried, chances are he will be convicted, and he should be put away to serve a sentence as a lesson to him and a warning to all the other many acid-throwers of this violence-prone country. Have our judges no wives, mothers, sisters, daughters? Are the women of this country destined for ever and with impunity to be treated as sub-humans, and subjected to cruelty and humiliation without our law-makers and dispensers of justice raising a finger in their support?

Finally, to the tragic case of a young lawyer of Karachi, Shakir Latif. He went to school at St Patrick's, went on to the London School of Economics, was called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn, returned to Karachi and joined a law firm. He lived with his parents in their Defence home. Their neighbour, Amjad Malik, one day in July invited Shakir over to his house and is alleged to have poisoned and killed him. A letter, 'A mother's plea for justice', was printed in this newspaper on August 12. How soon will it be before the judges of Pakistan decide the case of Amjad Malik who is now in police custody? How long will it be before the criminal justice system in this country can mete out due punishment?

Shakir's parents weep over a letter written to Shakir by Roy Amlot, QC,Chairman of the Bar of England and Wales, on March 8, 2001: "I would like to offer you congratulations and my best wishes on your call to the Bar. This is the culmination of years of hard work and you have every reason to be proud. You have joined a great profession which welcomes everyone of talent and commitment. The strength of the Bar lies in its commitment to the principles of justice, independence and excellence. If you follow those principles your life at the Bar will be rewarding and successful. You will have your chance to help people, often at their time of greatest need. Your duty is to serve them and the court."

Now, we must ask the question, who will serve the cause of the murdered young barrister?