Daily Times

Following the directive of the Supreme Court, the federal government has prepared a comprehensive plan to set up 120 accountability courts across the country.

The decision was taken by Law Minister Barrister Farogh Naseem. The plan includes the overall human resource requirements and financial implications for the establishment of additional accountability courts across the country.

A statement issued by the law ministry on Thursday said the plan would be presented to Prime Minister Imran Khan by the law and justice divisions.

The plan will be presented to Prime Minister Imran Khan by the Law and Justice Division for consideration in the coming days, said a statement issued by the law ministry on Thursday.

Currently, 24 accountability courts are functioning across the country, in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore, Multan, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Quetta.

The apex court issued the directives after expressing dismay over pending of 1,226 references since the year 2000 as well as vacant vacancies in five accountability courts out of a total of 25.

The directives were issued by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed while hearing a suo motu case regarding delay in trials before accountability courts in the light of Section 16 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, which asks for deciding corruption matters within a period of 30 days.