According to Mr. Rehman, the criminal justice situation in Kasur has significantly improved since the implementation of Pakistan’s National Judicial Policy, first implemented on 1 June 2009. The following is a quote from Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudry:

The key features of the National Judicial Policy is strengthening the independence of the judiciary by its separation from the executive and ridding the courts of the menace of corruption, thereby presenting a clean and positive image of judiciary. In the Policy, we have set high goals for ourselves. The goals are to initially reduce, and ultimately eliminate, backlog at the level of superior as well as subordinate courts, and further, to fix time frame for disposal of civil and criminal cases. The criminal cases will get priority on account of the sub-human conditions in which under-trial prisoners are kept in jails. Writs for protection of fundamental rights i.e. right to life, liberty, equality, property and freedom of thought, conscience, association, etc will also be maintained on fast track.

Prior to the Policy’s implementation, cases—which under Pakistani law should only take two weeks to investigate—usually remained under investigation for years, meaning those implicated were often  in pre-trial detention for extremely prolonged periods. Due to the changes, courts have become significantly more effective, according to Mr. Rehman. The Law and Justice Commission is still in the process of fully implementing the new law, difficulties are arising through corrupt elements in the legal system. Mr. Rehman noted that torture is still widespread in the Pakistani legal system, in addition to other human rights violations, and an aggressive effort is required to tackle these problems.

The lack of affordable lawyers is the greatest hurdle to the creation of an effective legal system. This is the reason that Kasur District Jail is currently at 300% capacity, a difficult situation for the Jail Administration to handle given its limited budget. Thus Mr. Rehman welcome Waqas’ attempts to provide legal aid to the accused through his Good Thinkers organization. He stated more young lawyers are needed to partake in Waqas’ work, their enthusiasm as recent law school graduates could be a powerful force to impact the system. What is needed most, Mr. Rehman noted, is additional training to improve the courtroom skills.

Mr. Rehman asked Waqas for additional meetings to further develop the collaboration between his organisation and the Kasur bar.

Mr. Ahmed expressed full support for Waqas’ project. He stated that human rights violations exist in many forms other than torture, and are widespread throughout Kasur. He pointed out that forced labour is a human rights violation, and provided some statistics: although the government has mandated a minimum wage of Rs. 520 (US$6) for every 1,000 bricks made, workers tend to earn only half this salary. According to Mr. Ahmed, this explicit exploitation is engendered by endemic corruption, which gives the landowners significant influence, and the ability to ignore the laws.

Problems are further exacerbated by allegedly illegitimate criminal cases.  In Mr. Ahmed’s experience, poor labourers and farmers are often arrested and tortured without cause. The police additionally don’t offer bail to the indigent accused, although the wealthy and influential can easily avail themselves of this option. Complaints about ill-treatment are not usually raised, due to fear of recrimination against people who report violations.

Mr. Ahmed will continue his work to address these problems by providing legal aid to the needy; his life’s work proves there is a need for projects such Waqas’, which likewise cater to vulnerable populations.

One reason for this excessive overcrowding is the stuttering pace of Kasur’s court system. Police often take several months to complete their investigations, delaying court proceedings, leaving those who cannot afford bail (the majority) sitting in jail for months or years. Capacity is also stretched by inmates accused of minor crimes, who need to pay a fine, but have no way to do so, and thus remain sitting in jail.

Mr. Tahir suggested that a legal aid system would significantly improve the circumstances of prisoners who can’t afford legal fees. Additionally, an advocacy campaign targeted at police to ensure the timely completion of investigations would have a considerable impact.

There has, however, been some improvement and the opportunity for further change exists. After the recent implementation of new judicial policies, more cases are being completed in a timely manner. Additionally, Waqas recently met with a representative of Pakistan’s Social Welfare Department, whose responsibilities include providing medical and legal support to women, juveniles and the elderly. Waqas’ group, Good Thinkers Organization-Pakistan, is a legal aid leader in Kasur, and the representative suggested a collaborative approach to tackle the existing problems in Kasur’s jails.

The Social Welfare Department would find relevant cases requiring legal aid among the prison population. The Good Thinkers Organization would then arrange for a lawyer to provide pro-bono defence. Any costs incurred would be covered by local philanthropists, with payment arranged by the Social Welfare Department.

With this system in place, the endemic difficulties in the central jail could be tackled, the first step towards an effective and efficient legal system in Kasur

Below you find can find an impression of his campaign that made him reach out to 683 individuals, advising them on their legal rights and providing them with a basic knowledge of the law. Besides the 18 seminars in Kasur, Waqas Abid also organized a Training Workshop for representatives from the media, lawyers and NGO-workers.

Waqas Abid informing journalists, lawyers and NGO-workers about his 2010 JusticeMakers Project

Read more about Waqas Abid 2010 JusticeMakers Project here, or read the full blog entry.

Pakistan’s domestic laws state that police are prohibited from engaging in torture. However sources claim that it is still widespread, with only 2% of cases reported due to intimidation. Citizens to whom Waqas has been spreading this message, reacted with surprise when told this information. They believed that it was within the police’s authority to arrest and torture alleged criminals.

Waqas Leading a Training Seminar in Hari Har

The trainings were available for both sexes but focused on women as they usually remain out of police custody. Thus they are able to engage the services of a lawyer and reduce the likelihood of torture taking place. To facilitate this process, Waqas supplied the attendees with lists of volunteer lawyers they could contact as necessary.

Through his seminars Waqas came into contact with former inmates from various jails. They stated that prison conditions included unhygienic food, contaminated drinking water and unwarranted torture. They also claimed that richer prisoners regularly bribed prison officials in return for mobile phone privileges, good food and clean water. In the Kasur District Jail in particular, according to Waqas, many inmates are incarcerated for minor crimes such as the non-payment of fines. Some sit in pre-trial detention for years.

Waqas aims to address these problems through his advisement of rights campaigns. With a basic knowledge of the law, locals will be better positioned to demand their rights. This will reduce incidents of torture and hopefully relieve some pressure on the prison system for it to function more efficiently.

To achieve these goals, the department has a variety of projects, including gender mainstreaming, provision of free health care, skills development for women and improving conditions for prisoners. This last point includes a two pronged approach, providing detainees both with medical facilitates and legal aid, and offers an opportunity for collaboration between Waqas’ Good Thinkers organisation and the Department. Through his JusticeMaker project, Waqas aims to provide information about legal rights to brick kiln workers throughout Kasur; his legal knowledge and experience in disseminating the information to underprivileged communities makes him a valuable resource for the Social Welfare Department

Mr. Abad stated that his department encourages individuals and organisations to work on behalf of the needy. The Department’s efforts to provide effective legal aid have been muted by lack of funds and a problem of scale.  Although there is an officer assigned to Kasur District Central Jail, there are not enough lawyers or funds to address every case; thus a lot of individuals remain in jail for comparatively minor crimes. Collaboration with Good Thinkers would be a stepping stone towards resolving the prolonged pre-trial detention. A Memorandum of Understanding is therefore being prepared by Waqas to lay the groundwork for the interaction between the two stakeholders.