Justice neither cheap, nor prompt: Justice Jawwad for analysing decisions by 100 judges

ISLAMABAD: Former chief justice of Pakistan (CJ) Jawwad S. Khawaja said Wednesday the elite or the ruling class believed the country was made for them and they had antagonised the masses by their monopoly over the state.

Addressing a seminar at The Jinnah Centre for the Rule of Law, the former CJ the elite was selective about the constitution — this clause is acceptable and that is not.

He lamented “we could not rid ourselves of slave mentality in 72 years”.

He said Pakistan had 2,400 judges, and if 100 judgments are examined, one could see that justice was neither cheap nor prompt. Acase settlement took 25 years on average, and some 50 or 60 years, he added.

Justice Khawaja advised the institutions to understand that the rule of law would remain a dream unless people got a message only that clause would be applied which was acceptable to them, and that the rule of law mean their own rule.

Former chairman of the Senate, Senator Raza Rabbani, said the ruling elite had “privatised” the basic rights promised by the constitution, and hybrid war was going on against democracy and democratic institutions.

He said that the elite became stronger and believed it owned the state , but it alienated the common man.

Prime Minister’s Adviser Shahzad Akbar stressed the role of judiciary for constitutional governance, adding that accountability was not possible without media.

Federal Minister Sarwar Khan, Nafisa Shah, former IGP Dr Shoaib Suddle, former FIA DG Arif Khosa, former chairman the Council of Islamic Ideology, Prof Khalid Masood, and Chairman of the National Commission on the Status of Women, Begum Khawar Mumtaz, also spoke.