Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan said Thursday that Pakistan’s criminal justice system needs to be reworked as the current setup encourages crime.

Addressing the launching ceremony of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates, the prime minister said that “once the culprits face punishments for their crimes, the rates would eventually fall in the country.” “A civilised society gives a message: Crime does not pay,” he said, stressing the need for reforms in the criminal justice system.

Talking about the law ministry’s initiative, he said that through it, the government has eased the work for a common man. “I consider corrections [in the system] when it provides relief to a common citizen.” The reason behind the corrective measure is to make the life of a common man easier, he said, adding that the inheritance certificates would now be issued within 15 days.

He lamented that the land mafia illegally takes hold of their plots, as he highlighted that half of the pending cases in the courts were of land disputes. “We are trying to bring reforms and change our justice system for the better,” he said, adding that it would be another step towards providing relief to the people.

Reiterating his resolve for transforming Pakistan into a Madina-like state, he said: “In the state of Madina, monarchy did not exist.” The state was based on the principles of equality and justice, he said, adding that people do not know that it was a “modern-day state.”

The prime minister said the main objective of digitalization of inheritance system was to facilitate the general public and provide them justice without any inordinate delay. The letters of administration and succession certificates, which earlier took around two to seven years to issue, will now take two weeks.

Imran Khan said the government considered the law reforms crucial in ensuring justice through people-friendly legislation. He regretted that delay in matters relating to inheritance of property caused utmost grievances to the heirs, particularly among the families dispersed abroad.

Imran Khan said the overall system that denied the spirit of facilitation for general public in fact encouraged criminal activities in shape of bribery or illegal occupation of property. “When crime pays, crime multiplies.” Besides reforms in the Civil Procedure Courts, he said, the government would bring improvement in the Criminal Justice System as well. For the purpose, all the stakeholders, including judiciary and lawyers would be taken on board, he added.

The prime minister said the main goal of his government was to emulate the welfare State of Madina, where revenues and wealth were diverted towards uplift and facilitation of the underprivileged.

He lauded Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Farogh Nasim and his team for materializing the difficult task meant to facilitate the common man.

Dr Farogh Nasim said the Law Ministry had devised a mechanism to establish Succession Facilitation Units in collaboration with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for the issuance of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates. He said the certificates would be issued within 15 days of initiation of application by the legal heirs of the deceased.