According to officials, 3,496 tax cases worth 97 billion rupees are pending in the Supreme Court (File Photo: Urdu News).
3 thousand 496 financial cases worth 97 billion rupees are pending in the Supreme Court of Pakistan while 2 thousand 273 cases are pending in the anti-terrorism courts across the country.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan has formed a five-member committee headed by the Registrar Supreme Court to reduce financial cases and judicial reforms, expressing concern over the loss to the national exchequer.
A meeting was held in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi on Thursday in which the issue of reduction in tax cases was considered.
The meeting was attended by senior officials of FBR, tax experts, industrialists and other concerned persons.
FBR Chairman, Attorney General, Secretaries of Law and Finance Division, representatives of Supreme Court Bar Association and Chamber of Commerce officials also participated in the meeting.
Apart from overseas investors and members of parliament from government and opposition parties, Senator Mohsin Aziz and Saleem Mandviwala also attended the meeting.
Expressing concern over the burden of pending cases and unnecessary delay in tax cases, the Chief Justice urged the stakeholders to end the trend of unnecessary financial cases and injunctions.
Justice Yahya Afridi also emphasized the need for the government and the Bar Association to take joint measures to reduce financial cases.
The five-member committee formed for judicial reforms will be headed by Registrar Supreme Court Muhammad Salim Khan.
Tax expert Asim Zulfiqar, Imtiaz Ahmed Khan and a senior representative of FBR will be included in this committee. Sher Shah Khan will be the coordinator of the committee, while Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan and Secretary Finance will provide support to the committee.
The committee will make suggestions for expeditious disposal and classification of financial cases, so as to reduce the burden of these cases on the country’s economy.
On the other hand, a meeting of the Administrative Judges of the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATC) was held which was presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi.
The meeting reviewed the performance of the ATC courts and reviewed the key challenges to ensure speedy and effective delivery of justice in counter-terrorism cases.
It was informed in the meeting that at present, a total of 2,272 anti-terrorism cases are pending in Pakistan, of which 1,372 cases are pending only in Sindh.
The Chief Justice expressed concern over the burden and stressed the importance of expeditious disposal of these cases so that justice is not delayed.
The meeting also discussed key challenges facing ATC courts, including ensuring adequate security for witnesses and facilitating online appearances.
These also include the establishment and improvement of Forensic Science Laboratories (FSLs) and the establishment of additional ATC courts to support evidence-based decision-making.
The Chief Justice issued instructions that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) of Sindh should provide assistance in making the laboratories of Balochistan operational in Quetta.
He further directed that the judges who completed their term in ATC should be appointed in relatively easy positions and the best performing ATC judges should be included in foreign training with the support of Law and Justice Commission. .
The Chief Justice asked the Attorney General of Pakistan and the Prosecutor General of each province to take up these issues with their respective governments.
He called for immediate and concerted measures to address the infrastructure and resource requirements of anti-terrorism courts to ensure timely and fair judgments.
