Colonial romance
TO strengthen the criminal justice system, Peshawar High Court directed police to implement a pilot project in Peshawar. CJS components — police, prosecution, prison (mainly a provincial domain) and courts — work under higher courts. Article 10A guarantees fair trial; Article 37 ensures inexpensive, swift justice. National Action Plan’s point 20 and revised NAP’s Point 12 list CJS reform but there’s been little effort on this front.
Post-9/11 and post-devolution, isolated initiatives, like converting ‘B’ into ‘A’ areas, instead of showing reform efficacy, saw reversals or amendments. Currently, CJS often treats victims as complainants. CJS reform needs a diagnostic approach — identifying hurdles like financial constraints and little public support. Reforms also aim to improve justice standards. Romancing a colonial legacy, corruption, lack of will, weak political manifestation, absence of a transparent, instant complaint disposal apparatus and public oversight, rigidity and weak coordination hinder reform — each CJS component wants to operate independently, not under public oversight. Forces within society and CJS committed to maintaining the status quo offer resistance to reform. Working classes bear the brunt of CJS flaws, with little voice in reform deliberations. An integrated approach is needed.
An effective CJS evolves; this one is like a custodian of a colonial past; it’s averse to new stakeholders to help with policy reforms and oversight. Stakeholders include CSOs, mental health professionals, restorative justice facilitators, tech companies including social media platforms, human rights bodies, victims’ advocates, think tanks, and donors. Lodging false FIRs and witness non-cooperation burden CJS. Usually investigators follow the outlined FIR track but it can create ambiguity. Investigators must be trained to have independent mindsets.
CJS reform faces financial constraints and weak forensic support. Increased crime, terrorism and media sensationalism weaken efforts. Manipulation of medico-legal reports negatively impacts justice, hence transparency and independent oversight are necessary. Outdated classification of cognisable and non-cognisable offences hampers police performance, delays justice, and enables corruption. The nature of crime has changed but rigid classification keeps victims shuttling between courts and police, reducing public trust in CJS.
An effective criminal justice system evolves.
Though police and judges’ salaries have gone up, is the increase proportional to improved efficiency and decrease in corruption? With hundreds of laws, the issue is not of enactment but enforcement mostly carried out without input from stakeholders, leading to a 130th ranking in the rule of law index.
Even after separating prosecution from police, case files shuttle between investigators and prosecutors for months. It must be assessed if prosecution quality and conviction rates have improved after making prosecution a separate agency or if the financial burden has increased. Police Order (PO) 2002 separated investigation from operations, but every police organisation kept it under the operational command’s control. Without investing in technology, training, and talent recruitment, CJS will continue struggling. As of Dec 31, 2023, the judiciary had 2,256,523 pending cases — 82 per cent at district level. According to researcher Ali Asghar, the overall conviction rate for heinous cases is 15pc — 20pc in Punjab; 10pc in Sindh; 12pc in KP; 24pc in Balochistan.
Chapter XI of PO 2002 focuses on district criminal justice coordination committees headed by district and sessions judges with representation from all CJS components, to increase trust and coordination. KP and Balochistan face terrorism; incorporating ATC judges in CJCCs will help raise conviction rates. CJCCs can be catalysts of change. CJS actors usually look outward, linking reform with financial and human resources instead of increasing existing resource efficiency and simplifying procedures. Reform must combine looking inward and outward.
More participation in neighbourhood watch and community policing help prevent crime. Public input helps tailor CJS to meet public needs. Outreach programmes educate the public on laws, crime prevention, etc, while campaigns on cybercrime, street crime, drug abuse and domestic violence improve safety. Better public outreach will enhance access to CJS. When the public trusts CJS, it is likely to report crimes, volunteer as witnesses, and follow laws. Without transparency, misconduct goes unreported, so creating oversight is essential. In developing states, politicians prefer short-term wins over long-term structural changes. They must realise that peace and order are more crucial than physical development that can’t materialise without a service-oriented CJS.
The writer is author of Pakistan: In Between Extremism and Peace.
X: @alibabakhel
Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2026