The lack of proper security arrangements, insufficient infrastructural facilities at Islamabad District Courts in Sector F-8 is a major cause of concern for the lawyers, judges, litigants, and staffers.
The premises which houses the district and lower-level courts, offices of district administration and police department, chambers of lawyers, presents a chaotic picture as the authorities concerned have failed to improve its infrastructure and security.
Besides litigants appearing in courts for their civil and criminal lawsuits, there are many who come here for other legal issues; but they all share some common problems such as poor cleanliness, shortage of benches and poor security. It is relevant to mention here that, during the second week of this month, at least four litigants were shot dead in the district courts’ premises. The incident spread fear among locals in general and the daily visitors to the courts in particular. Almost all the lawyers and litigants who talked to Pakistan Today on Friday said the authorities were nothing to improve the security of the district courts.
The visitors expressed their grave concerns over the performance of the CDA and the law enforcement agencies. Some also pointed out the cleanliness problems saying the choked sewerage lines often caused sewage water to accumulate outside the lawyers’ chambers
“That filthy water poses a threat to litigants and layers but the departments concerned have turned a blind eye towards the issue,” complained a junior lawyer.
“I have come here from Chakwal to appear in a case and it is a shock to see such a poor state of the courts and that too in the middle of the federal capital,” said Baqar Raza, a litigant.
He said he had been hearing about “the ideal infrastructure” of departments in the capital and that the CDA was maintaining the cleanliness of the city efficiently. “But it proved to to be all fiction when I got here,” he observed.
Several visitors also complaint about the poor security measures at the lower courts. “I have an enmity with some people and they may even kill me but in the court premises it is the state’s responsibility to ensure I leave the premises alive and on my feet after every visit,” said a litigant, wishing not be named.
In addition to that, the overall courts’ infrastructure is in a shambles since most of the courts are convened in adjoining rooms, so almost daily, the corridors are filled with hinderers of litigants when the courts are in session. Some litigants told this scribe that they preferred to stay in the corridors because the waiting rooms were already packed to its capacity.
Islamabad Bar Association Sectary General Arbab strongly criticised the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration for the ordeals of the lawyers and litigants.
He demanded the CDA should ensure cleanliness at the district courts while the ICT high-ups must improve the infrastructure there to make it security friendly.
He pointed out that the boundary wall of the district courts, which the government authorities had raised for security became in fact the biggest security concern.
“No one can save his or her life because of this wall since the sometimes it is too congested a place to evacuate in a short time in case any mishap occurs,” he added.
He said even the judges had also voiced their concerns but the authorities were not paying any heed.
