Remove barriers outside Hamza Shehbaz’s Lahore residence, orders SC

• CJP tasks committees to probe quality of legal education in country
• Chief Justice Nisar laments low salaries of doctors

LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Sunday ordered the removal of barriers outside the house of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member National Assembly (MNA) Hamza Shehbaz, while hearing a suo motu notice on the blocking of roads for security purposes at the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry.

The chief justice reprimanded Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Saeed when he said only the security gate near Hamza’s residence was removed and not the barriers.

CJP Nisar asked him to explain as to who posed threat to the MNA, prompting him to install security barriers outside his residence in a zigzag manner.

“Who’s Hamza. I don’t know any Hamza,” Chief Justice Nisar remarked.

In response, the chief secretary said, “Hamza is an MNA and the chief minister’s son.”

“Hamza can appear before the court to apprise about the threats to his life and if there are genuine threats then he can shift his residence,” the chief justice remarked. “Why cannot these people reside where there is no life threat,” he continued.

“I am the chief justice, yet there are no blockades outside my house,” Justice Nisar said.

The chief secretary assured the court of removing the blockades.

Chief Justice Nisar informed the official that he will visit the place in a private vehicle to look into the implementation of the court’s order.

Taking exception to security guards taking bath in the open outside the lawmaker’s residence, he warned that if the practice didn’t stop, he would take strict action in this regard.

Hamza, an MNA from Lahore, resides in Model Town’s H-Block close to his father and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s residence.

Earlier, the Supreme Court in its written judgement ordered that traffic can only be stopped for two minutes to facilitate VVIP movement in a case regarding road blockades to facilitate VVIP movement.

Headed by Mian Saqib Nisar, a three-judge bench of the apex court heard the case at the Supreme Court’s (SC) Karachi Registry on January 13.

The CJP had specified that the convenience of the public should be kept above everything else and that the general public faces immense hardships when roads are blocked for VVIPs.

SC FORMS BODY TO LOOK INTO QUALITY OF LEGAL EDUCATION IN COUNTRY:

While hearing a suo motu case at the SC Lahore registry regarding the quality of legal education in Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar tasked committees for identifying reforms in legal education to report their findings to the court within seven weeks after the chief justice vowed to reform the standard of legal education in the country in less than two months.

During the hearing, the chief justice said that last night he saw a picture of getting a BA degree in one night, adding that, “this standard of education will not be allowed to continue.”

The CJP had regretted that the institutions of the country were being weakened and stressed the need for competent lawyers instead of those who “sold paan during the day and practised law in the evening”.

The committee was told to submit its final report in seven weeks’ time, whereas committees operating at the provincial level were instructed to submit their findings to the central committee within five weeks.

The SC also ordered provincial chief secretaries to assist the committees formed in order to improve the quality of legal education in the country.

The court also formed a separate committee comprising law teachers and directed them to compile a report on the reforms needed within six weeks.

“We need a high standard of legal education so that we produce good lawyers rather than clerks,” remarked CJP Nisar.

“Private law colleges can fill the vacuum in legal education but they should not approach this as a business,” he added.

During the last hearing on Saturday, Chief Justice Nisar had issued an order prohibiting universities across the country from granting affiliation to new law colleges, at the same time barring high courts and subordinate courts from issuing a stay order on the case.

The CJP had ordered the vice-chancellors of universities that have law college affiliates to submit a signed report detailing the admission criteria, the quota of students as well as the results produced by the colleges. He had also formed a committee, that would be headed by lawmaker Hamid Khan, to introduce reforms in law colleges. He had said that institutions must be strengthened instead of individuals since the latter keep coming and going.

MEDICAL WASTE, COLLEGES:

While hearing suo moto regarding low standards of medical colleges and unsafe disposal of hospital waste, the CJP observed that doctors are like mothers, adding, “for their betterment, we will have to bring reforms in the education laws.”

“It is sad that doctors are getting low salaries,” the chief justice remarked.

The court also expressed concern that 64 tonnes of waste were found from hospitals of Lahore.

The chief justice remarked that the garbage issues of Karachi improved after the court took notice.