PHCBA says civil courts have failed to implement decisions

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) said on Monday that civil courts in the province had failed to implement decisions, thus increasing the unnecessary litigation.

“We brought the issue before the chief justice of Peshawar High Court. The recently appointed chief justice has assured the PHCBA of taking some steps to ensure implementation of the civil courts’ decisions to avoid unnecessary litigations,” PHCBA General Secretary Yasir Khattak told media persons at a press briefing here.

He said the burden of cases on courts would decrease after timely implementation of the decision of the civil courts. Flanked by PHCBA president Syed Abdul Fayyaz and other office-bearers, he said the PHC chief justice had assured the bar to reduce the cause lists up to 25 to 40 cases in the high court benches, but it would take two to three months to overcome the present pendency of cases.

Yasir Khattak said the lawyers’ body had extended full support to the chief justice for overcoming the pendency of cases and agreed with him that only three chances of adjournment would be given to counsels with mutual consent.

About the four months performance, he said the PHCBA had successfully completed and achieved its 80 percent Charter of Demands of digitalisation of libraries, completion of books acquisition furniture and computers in the libraries, installation of solar system and water filtration plants.

He said that work was underway for setting up new bar rooms in judicial blocks across the province, including in Kohat and Buner. For the first time, he said, the PHCBA established a separate bar room for women.

Yasir Khattak said the association had also registered PHCBA members with Pakistan Youth Hostels Association for better accommodation at low costs and also signed an agreement with the Pearl Continental Hotels for 15 to 20 percent discount to lawyers on foods and accommodation.

The association, he said, started international tours of lawyers for the first time and a tour of Malaysia was arranged for senior lawyers recently. He said that two cases of the association regarding lawyers’ licence issue and health facilities to lawyers were pending before the high court.

Yasir Khattak said the association was going to file a writ petition in the high court against high increase in toll tax at Kohat Tunnel toll plaza. He said that former chief minister Pervez Khattak, now defence minister, had announced Rs10 million for the bar, but the then provincial government provided Rs7 million cheque.

Yasir Khattak said the then Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Asad Qaiser, now speaker of National Assembly, did not honour his pledge he had made at the Chota Lahore Bar Association in Swabi district. He said the association would file a writ petition for fulfilment of the then speaker’s announcements.

About the car parking issue, he said that PC-1 for two to three-storey car parking had been prepared with consultation of the PHC chief justice at Nishtar Hall parking area adjacent to PHC, which is pending for approval of the provincial government.

PHCBA President Syed Abdul Fayyaz said that the association was trying its best to resolve the issues of lawyer community. He said efforts were being made for the welfare and professional development of lawyers. He said the PHC was in agreement with the association for conducting a training session for junior lawyers in the KP Judicial Academy regarding professional ethics.

The PHCBA President said the body was also going to arrange lectures on legal issues through senior advocates who would share their experiences. Syed Abdul Fayyaz said the association would also arrange lectures on Islamic teaching through known scholars at the bar.