— Federal Judicial Academy, inaugurated in Nov 2013 at a cost of Rs1.25 bln, is also non-operational
The under-construction building of Islamabad High Court, another ambitious project by the Law Ministry, awaits completion since its groundbreaking on November 5, 2012, by former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The work on the site of construction in the Red Zone, Sector G-5 is still far from completion even after four years.
The new building will span on five acres of land, costing the Ministry of Law and Justice around Rs2.5 billion. It is pertinent to mention here that Federal Judicial Academy—a similar project of Ministry of Law and Justice to enhance the academy—was inaugurated amidst much fanfare during the final month of former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary in November 2013 at the cost of Rs1.25 billion, but is far from being operational.
“Both of these projects were a product of former chief justice’s imagination. Ministry of Law and Justice made its reservations known about the cost involved and their efficiency even during the planning phase,’ confided a well-placed source in the ministry. He further said that the government at that time gave in to all the demands, and instead of spending a huge sum of Rs4 billion on other more vital projects, expansion of building and construction of new buildings was ordered.
While billions of rupees are being spent on ‘mega judicial complexes,’ the district courts of Islamabad work out of shops and apartments in sector F-8 since its inception in 1980. The ever increasing flow of lawyers has made the court increasingly congested and the space for chambers has long run out.
“I am allotted a chamber so far away from the courts that it is not possible for me to go to and fro during a day’s practice. The old lawyers are lucky as their chambers are near the courts. I have been practising for the past eight years; I’ve been hearing ever since then that the courts will shift to a new building soon. When it rains the ketcheri (court) becomes submerged in water. I request that F-8 Courts be moved as soon as possible,” said Advocate Gulbaaz Mushtaq.
The construction work on new IHC building has seen its fair share of problems, as it was originally slated to be completed in the year 2015. But in April 2015, the allegations related to a lack of transparency in the pre-qualification of the contractor firm ‘Interhome’ came to the fore, calling the award of contract not in accordance with PEPRA rules—which resulted in cancellation of contract and the new contract was later awarded to Habib Rafique (Pvt) Ltd. The ministry hopes that the building will be completed by June next year.