Quake destroys court building

Published October 14, 2005

HARIPUR, Oct 13: Supreme Court Bar Association vice-president Saeed Akhtar Khan has demanded that the provincial government should make alternative arrangements for the court buildings destroyed in the recent earthquake or rendered unusable.

Saeed Akhtar Khan said the earthquake had completely destroyed the district courts of Mansehra, Battagram and Balakat and partially damaged the district courts of Abbottabad and the building of the Abbottabad bench of the Peshawar High Court.

This situation hampered judicial work in these courts and caused backlog in the already burdened courts, he said.

He said the court work in these areas might suffer indefinite delay exposing litigants and judicial staff to enormous difficulties.

The association official demanded funds for the reconstruction of all the affected court buildings He also expressed grief over the death of Civil Judge Balakat Riaz-ul-Amin killed during his duty hours.