Pakistan: Premier Forms Panel to Review Criminal Laws

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, constituted a committee, consisting of nine jurists, in order to review the criminals laws of the country.

The ministry of law, justice and human rights divisions, said that the committee has been asked to present its recommendations within six months. The notification says that it is important to improve the criminal justice system of Pakistan and make it more practicable when it comes to meeting current requirements of the country.

Attorney General for Pakistan, Salman Aslam Butt, will be heading the committee, while the other members include, PBC Vice Chairman Azam Nazeer Tarar, Supreme Court Bar Association president Fazl-e-Haq Abbasi, former SCBA president Kamran Murtaza, former SCBA president Asma Jahangir, Rasheed A Rizvi advocate, Muhammad Akram Quraishi, Khawaja Haris Ahmad and Abdul Lateef Afridi. PBC’s secretary will act as secretary of the committee.

The committee will review both ordinary as well as terrorist laws of the country. The committee will be looking at three main components of the criminal justice system– investigation, trial and post trial– and present its recommendations accordingly.