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HomeGo To PakistanThe fiery activism of Pakistan’s Chief Justice spares no one, not even...

The fiery activism of Pakistan’s Chief Justice spares no one, not even Nawaz Sharif

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Here’s what’s happening across the border: Women in Sindh’s prisons learn about their legal rights; man who raped and murdered a five-year-old gets sentenced to death. 

The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Friday declared a lifetime ban on Nawaz Sharif from holding office. Over the last one year, Sharif and the CJP have fired a string of shots at each other and the CJP’s verdict only went on to show that being in his bad books can prove to be detrimental in Pakistan.

Sharif had earlier said that the judiciary had paralysed the government. “The government says that the judiciary has paralysed it. The government has no idea how paralysed we have been due to the government,” CJP Mian Saqib Nisar had responded to Sharif.

Nisar became prominent for issuing suo motu notices at the drop of a hat. Nisar had, by January this year, taken suo motu notices of 58 cases and taken up at least 185 human rights cases.

From taking notice of encroachment of public parks and littering, to issuing notice against the provincial governments for using taxpayer’s money for political advertising, the CJP has used the suo motu tool generously.

Although legal experts have advised the judiciary to exercise its jurisdiction wisely while dealing with political issues, Nisar has rebutted these remarks often by claiming that ‘God’ had given him the responsibility to deliver justice. “The goal of a judge should not be to dispose of cases merely to meet the desired target (i.e. to reduce pendency of cases). His/her mission should be to disseminate speedy justice while listening to his/her conscience and adhering to Islamic principles of justice for all regardless of their social statuses,” he said.

CJP Mian Saqib Nisar with women from his family
CJP Mian Saqib Nisar with women from his family | Twitter

Half of Pakistan’s villages don’t have access to electricity

A recent study by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA), prepared in collaboration with the government of Pakistan, reported that half of the rural population in the country still does not have access to electricity, and imports of fossil fuels are rising as domestic production of oil and gas slows down.

Pakistan’s rapidly increasing population was held as the cause for this, along with inadequate in power sector infrastructure.

Man who raped and murdered a five-year-old gets death sentence

A man convicted of raping and murdering a five-year-old girl in Shangla in Swat was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court in Malakand, Wednesday.

The court also fined him Rs 600,000 and directed him to pay Rs 200,000 in compensation to the bereaved family.

The man had forced the five-year-old victim into his house after kidnapping her from near a local store on 21 June 2017. He later dumped her body in a pool of water. The Shangla police managed to apprehend the accused. The man received his verdict after nine months of prolonged legal process.

The father of the victim told Tribune, Pakistan that he was satisfied with court’s decision.

Women in Sindh’s prisons learn about their rights

A special programme organised by the Committee for the Welfare of Prisoners-Legal Aid Office (CWP-LAO), women development department of Sindh and the United Nations highlighted the importance of women in prisons understanding the law and their legal rights.

Five women inmates also performed a skit on stage in the Sindh prison to spread information.

“I realised that mothers in jail can keep their children until they attain the age of eight. And after that, if they don’t have anyone to watch over them in their family, the children are sent to S.O.S. villages until the mother’s sentence is complete,” said Fiza, a prisoner who was arrested in 2015.

The superintendent of the prison, SSP Sheeba Shah, told the inmates to utilise the vocational education they receive to earn their livelihoods once they are out of prison.

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