State-funded legal aid for poor launched
Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi said on Monday that a new initiative had been launched to provide assistance to poor litigants to hire legal representation at all levels of the judiciary at the state expense in order to ensure equitable access to justice for all citizens.
Chairing a meeting of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) at the Supreme Court Branch Registry in Quetta, he said that a senior representative would be posted in the high courts to liaise with district bar associations and supervise the ongoing justice sector initiatives at the grassroots level.
The LJCP meeting was held to review the institutional linkages between the bar associations in Balochistan and the LJCP with a view to strengthening justice delivery, said a press release issued here.
During the meeting, the chief justice announced that under the auspices of the LJCP, a new initiative had been launched to provide assistance to poor litigants to hire legal representation, at the state expense, at all levels of the judiciary – from magistrate courts to the Supreme Court.
Remuneration of up to Rs50,000 would be given through the District Legal Empowerment Committees, the press release said, adding that the bars might nominate qualified lawyers to the district judges, the high courts, and the Supreme Court in this regard.
He also said that the LJCP had decided to post a senior level representative in every province, who would sit in the high courts. These representatives would maintain liaison to raise awareness among district bar associations and identify local priority areas and supervise initiatives at the grassroots level.
On the occasion, Chief Justice Afridi urged bar representatives to sensitise their respective bar associations and proactively engage in judicial reform initiatives. He directed that the facilities extended to the bars by the government must be structured to ensure better cost for the money spent.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Govt unveils sweeping rail reforms
The government on Sunday outlined major reforms for Pakistan Railways, including an imminent agreement on the RohriKarachi section, a Rs50 billion allocation to upgrade the LahoreRawalpindi track, reducing travel time to two hours and the digitisation of the railway system. The development came as Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi addressed the "Meet the Press" event at the Lahore Press Club. Speaking on the occasion, the minister announced "sweeping reforms" to modernise the sector, highlighting improvements such as outsourcing cleaning services at seven stations across Rawalpindi, Karachi, and Lahore, enhancing food quality, and installing free Wi-Fi at Lahore Railway Station. He highlighted key infrastructure upgrades, including a soon-to-be-finalised agreement for the RohriKarachi railway section and a Rs50 billion allocation by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to upgrade the Lahore-Rawalpindi track, reducing travel time to two hours. Escalators and information desks have been introduced at stations, and a 105-kilometer railway track for coal transport is set to be completed by April 30, reducing electricity costs from Rs15 to Rs4.5 per unit. Additionally, a business train with Wi-Fi-equipped coaches and high-quality dining will be inaugurated on July 29 by PM Shehbaz Sharif. The minister announced plans to digitise the railway system, link sixteen banks to the railways app, and install ATMs at 348 stations. To address inefficiencies, three railway companies have been shut down, and long-leave employees would be recalled. "Pakistan Railways is the pride of Pakistan," Abbasi declared, promising to make it profitable if the federal government covers pensions and salaries. He stressed that the railways issues stem not from labourers but from unnamed individuals who looted the system. He emphasised the need for investment in railways to boost the national economy, warning that major reforms are imminent and bureaucratic inefficiencies will not be tolerated. Addressing employment concerns, Abbasi revealed a compassionate approach to contract workers. "We could dismiss contract employees with a one-month salary, but instead, we are considering reassigning railway sanitation staff to their local areas," he shared, signaling a commitment to employee welfare. The "Suthra Punjab" initiative will be extended to Railway colonies, aiming to enhance living conditions for staff and their families. Abbasi also claimed unprecedented improvements in cleanliness across the railway system, stating, "The level of cleanliness we have now achieved in Railways has never been seen before." Cracking down on illegal activities, Abbasi issued a stern warning against ticketless travel and related offenses. "Smuggling and theft used to plague Railways. Now, anyone traveling without a ticket or aiding such activities will face imprisonment," he cautioned. To bolster security, Pakistan Railways has recruited 500 new personnel for the Railway Police and plans to acquire scanners and metal detectors using the department's own budget.
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Consumers pay bitter price for sweetener
In the digital age, there's no excuse for opacity as a transparent digital dashboard that tracks sugar from mills to wholesalers to retailers would make it harder for hoarders and profiteers to operate undetected. Photo: file Due to a lack of government attention, sugar prices have skyrocketed across the country, with an increase of up to Rs60 per kilogram at the retail level. Experts believe that the artificial sugar shortage is a direct result of inaccurate data and flawed decisions by federal institutions concerning sugar production and consumption. In the midst of this crisis, sugar profiteers have become active once again, manipulating prices in major markets across Lahore. The government's weak control has allowed profiteers to exploit the public, which is forced to buy sugar at inflated rates. In 2024, sugar was selling at Rs140 to Rs145 per kilo, but it is now being sold for Rs190 to Rs200 per kilo. The official DC rate remains at Rs145, but no retailer is selling at this price. Retailers argue that they themselves are getting sugar at higher prices. According to Sheikh Tanveer, the price of a 100kg sugar sack was Rs12,000 last year, but due to poor planning, it has now soared to Rs18,000 at the ex-mill rate. "Retailers make little profit, while the real beneficiaries are mill owners and sugar profiteers," said Tanveer. Even though the government claims to maintain complete records of sugar production and consumption, a crisis occurs every year. Citizens claim that due to poor government policies, they are forced to spend their hard-earned money buying sugar at inflated rates. This time, the price hike is not minimal, adding up to Rs40 per kilo. One citizen demanded that the Prime Minister take notice and act against those responsible. "But nothing ever happens in this country," he added. "Inflation robs us in broad daylight. It is the government's responsibility to control prices, yet no department seems to be doing anything," lamented the local. Sources have revealed that the same profiteers, who were previously targeted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with full force, including arrests and record seizures, are once again operating in an organized manner, as they dominate future sugar pricing, especially in markets like Lahore's Akbari Mandi and Karachi's Jodia Bazaar. The FIA had previously launched a strong crackdown, but suddenly and without explanation, the operation was called off. It is unclear whether this was due to the influence of powerful profiteers or fear within the government, but sources claim officials made personal gains during the process. Till date, not a single sugar profiteer has been brought under the law. According to the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, the country produced 6.8 million tonnes of sugar during 20242025, which was 3 per cent more than the previous year. There was already a surplus of 7 million tonnes last year, prompting the government to allow exports. Despite sufficient availability, hoarders are now creating an artificial shortage once again, pushing sugar prices up to Rs200 per kilo. Currently, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) representatives have been deployed at sugar mills to prevent tax evasion. According to the FBR, this has improved tax recovery. Additionally, joint raids by the FBR and Intelligence Bureau are being conducted against hoarders across the country to stabilize prices. While there was no price hike during Ramadan, sugar prices have surged once again across the country. However, beyond targeting hoarders, no action has been taken against the profiteers responsible for driving up prices. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Food is preparing to spend valuable foreign exchange on sugar imports. Tendering has already begun, though the next sugarcane crushing season is scheduled to start in November. In this entire scenario, billions of rupees are being drained from the pockets of the poor, while neither the government nor the bureaucracy seems affected.
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Express Tribune
Energy-starved Pakistan's solar rush
Solar panels are now seen installed on the rooftops of houses across the country. Photo: AFP Pakistanis are increasingly ditching the national grid in favour of solar power, prompting a boom in rooftop panels and spooking a government weighed down by billions of dollars of power sector debt. The quiet energy revolution has spread from wealthy neighbourhoods to middle- and lower-income households as customers look to escape soaring electricity bills and prolonged power cuts. Down a cramped alley in Karachi, residents fighting the sweltering summer heat gather in Fareeda Saleem's modest home for something they never experienced before — uninterrupted power. "Solar makes life easier, but it's a hard choice for people like us," she says of the installation cost. Saleem was cut from the grid last year for refusing to pay her bills in protest over enduring 18-hour power cuts. A widow and mother of two disabled children, she sold her jewellery — a prized possession for women in Pakistan — and borrowed money from relatives to buy two solar panels, a solar inverter and battery to store energy, for Rs180,000. As temperatures pass 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), children duck under Saleem's door and gather around the breeze of her fan. Mounted on poles above homes, solar panels have become a common sight across the country of 240 million people, with the installation cost typically recovered within two to five years. Making up less than two percent of the energy mix in 2020, solar power reached 10.3 percent in 2024, according to the global energy think tank Ember. But in a remarkable acceleration, it more than doubled to 2 4 percent in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time. It has edged past gas, coal and nuclear electricity sources, as well as hydropower which has seen hundreds of millions of dollars of investment over the past decades. As a result, Pakistan has unexpectedly surged towards its target of renewable energy, making up 60 percent of its energy mix by 2030. Dave Jones, chief analyst at Ember, told AFP that Pakistan was "a leader in rooftop solar". Soaring fuel costs globally, coupled with demands from the International Monetary Fund to slash government subsidies, led successive administrations to repeatedly hike electricity costs. Prices have fluctuated since 2022 but peaked at a 155-percent increase and power bills sometimes outweigh the cost of rent. "The great solar rush is not the result of any government's policy push," Muhammad Basit Ghauri, an energy transition expert at Renewables First, told AFP. "Residents have taken the decision out of clear frustration over our classical power system, which is essentially based on a lot of inefficiencies." Pakistan sources most of its solar equipment from neighbouring China, where prices have dropped sharply, largely driven by overproduction and tech advancements. But the fall in national grid consumers has crept up on an unprepared government burdened by $8 billion of power sector debt, analysts say. Pakistan depends heavily on costly gas imports, which it sells at a loss to national energy providers. It is also tied into lengthy contracts with independent power producers, including some owned by China, for which it pays a fixed amount regardless of actual demand. A government report in March said the solar power increase has created a "disproportionate financial burden onto grid consumers, contributing to higher electricity tariffs and undermining the sustainability of the energy sector". Electricity sales dropped 2.8 percent year-on-year in June, marking a second consecutive year of decline. Last month, the government imposed a new 10-percent tax on all imported solar, while the energy ministry has proposed slashing the rate at which it buys excess solar energy from consumers. "The household solar boom was a response to a crisis, not the cause of it," said analyst Jones, warning of "substantial problems for the grid" including a surge during evenings when solar users who cannot store energy return to traditional power. The national grid is losing paying customers like businessman Arsalan Arif. A third of his income was spent on electricity bills at his Karachi home until he bought a 10-kilowatt solar panel for around 1.4 million rupees (around $4,900). "Before, I didn't follow a timetable. I was always disrupted by the power outages," he told AFP. Now he has "freedom and certainty" to continue his catering business. In the eastern city of Sialkot, safety wear manufacturer Hammad Noor switched to solar power in 2023, calling it his "best business decision", breaking even in 18 months and now saving 1 million rupees every month. The cost of converting Noor's second factory has now risen by nearly 1.5 million rupees under the new government tax.
