BAHAWALPUR: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah said on Tuesday that it was the duty of the bar and bench to work together for speedy provision of justice to the public. He was addressing a ceremony after inaugurating e-libraries at Lahore High Court’s Bahawalpur bench and the district courts premises. The LHC chief justice urged the lawyers in the audience to end the culture of frequent strikes and work boycotts. “Several reforms have been introduced at the district level including use of modern means of communications to facilitate litigants and lawyers,” he said. Model courts had been set up for seedy disposal of cases pending hearings for long. He said e-libraries had been established at all 36 districts of the province including at high court benches and bar associations. He expressed the hope that the facility would help lawyers in their studies and enable them to search for updated references not only from Pakistan but also from other countries. Chief Justice Shah said that there were more than 1.1 million cases under trial at district level and over 100,00 at the LHC. He said that recently introduced Alternative Dispute Resolution System would be helpful in resolving public grievances. Reiterating his commitment for speedy trial and transparent justice, Chief Justice Shah said that support of the bar was key for achieving better results. Now, it has become joint obligation of bar and bench to ensure timely disposal of cases as soon as possible. Senior LHC Judges present on the occasion included Justice Aminud din Khan, Justice Ali Akber Qureshi, Justice Habibullah Amir, Justice Asjad Javid, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, Justice Mamoonur Rasheed Sheikh. District and Sessions Judge Rehan Bashir, Senior Civil Judge Malik Umer Farooq Awan, President High Court Bar Nawazish Ali Peerzada, and District Bar president Usman Farooq were also present. Separately, a ceremony was held in Vehari to lay wreath at the burial site of Major Tufail Muhammad Shaheed, Nishan-e-Haider, to commemorate his martyrdom anniversary. Brigadier Jawad Ahmed Zaka laid the wreath on behalf of Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa and Commander 31 Corps Lieutenant General Sher Afgun. Guard of honour was presented by a contingent of the Pakistan Army. Major Tufail Muhammad Shaheed had sacrificed his life in 1958. At this occasion, family of the shaheed further cemented the sentiments of patriotism and love for Pakistan Army by expressing their feelings. Large number of people attended the wreath laying ceremony. Published in Daily Times, August 9th 2017.