Federal Minister for Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights Division Senator Farooq H. Naek has issued directives for conducting external audit of the Access to Justice Programme (AJP) while expressing his dissatisfaction over the performance of the multi-million dollars project.
The $350 million AJP was launched by the government in December 2001 with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Ministry of Law as its executing agency. Out of the total fund, $330 million were provided directly to the government of Pakistan as budgetary support to finance strengthening of justice sector, while the remaining $20 million were allocated for supplementing 'soft reforms' through capacity building, public awareness campaigns and necessary equipment.
The minister said his government was elected by the people to correct injustices in the society, and emphasised that efficient working of all legal development programs were pivotal towards achieving this higher objective. The law minister directed the managers of the programme to provide him with a comprehensive break up of all the utilised funds as responsibility for any mishandling can be fixed.
He said "We are talking about 330 million dollars and I want to know how all the money was spent," during a presentation pertaining to the AJP. He said that almost all the judicial structures, which were built by the AJP had neither any bar room for lawyers nor any seating facility for the litigants. The buildings don't even have libraries, the minister added.
So far seven court complexes, 232 court houses and 130 public sheds have been built by the AJP, while 304 other judicial structures are still under construction, the minister was informed. The AJP has also established a National Judicial Policy Making Committee, brought amendments in various ordinances, increased total number of judges from 1648 to 1994 and that of female judges from 85 to 171, increased judge's salaries, and upgraded their posts.
The AJP also claims completing 94 projects regarding capacity building of the judiciary. The key development objective of the AJP was to assist the government to improve access to justice so as to provide security and ensure equal protection under the law to citizens, in particular the poor; secure and sustain entitlements and thereby reduce the poor's vulnerability; strengthen the legitimacy of state institutions; and create conditions conducive to pro-poor growth, especially by fostering investor's confidence.
The law minister said that he would shortly visit interiors of Sindh, Balochistan, NWFP and Punjab, along with a panel of legal experts, to asses the level up to which AJP has deviated from its objectives.-PR
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