CHITRAL: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice (CJP) Saqib Nisar, who is on a weekend private visit to Chitral, on Saturday said judicial notice can be taken against the government authorities for the pathetic conditions of roads in Chitral.
He was speaking at a gathering of local lawyers in the district bar after visiting the District Headquarters Hospital.
The chief justice said he had taken notice against non-opening of the Lowari tunnel round the clock and the authorities concerned would soon brief him about it.
However, he said the roads on both sides of the tunnel and elsewhere in Chitral were not even worthy of travelling on the back of mules. If not like the carpeted roads in posh city areas, these roads should at least be in such a condition on which the commuters can travel with ease.
We are living in the 21st century and such kind of discrimination can be taken notice of judicially because accessibility is the basic human right, he added.
The chief justice seemed satisfied with the condition at the DHQ hospital and said there was nonetheless room for improvement. He said he had directed the authorities to resolve the shortage of staff and medicines at the hospital in three months besides simplifying the testing procedure for the procurement of medicines.
The CJP was informed by local lawyers about their issues on which he assured them that he would play his constitutional role in getting them resolved.
When he was informed about the shortage of judges in the courts of Booni, upper Chitral, Justice Nisar contacted the chief justice of Peshawar High Court to ensure the posting of two civil judges and one additional district judge in Booni. The chief justice of PHC assured the CJP that the needed judges would be sent to Booni on a priority basis.
Besides, the chief justice also assured the lawyers that the shortage of judges in Drosh would also be resolved. The chief justice also announced the confirmation of the single-member bench of the PHC in Chitral at the end of the current month followed by a double-member bench in the area. –Syed Nazir Hussain Shah