Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Yahya Afridi, chaired the 53rd meeting of the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) on Friday to address major legal issues.

The committee expressed deep concerns over the issue of missing persons and asserted that the judiciary will not compromise on fundamental human rights.

According to details, the meeting was attended by the Additional Attorney General and the Chief Justices of all High Courts.

According to the official communiqué issued after the meeting, the committee took the following decisions:

• Forming a high-level body to develop an institutional response to the missing persons issue.
• Approving the integration of technology to improve the judicial system and endorsed several people-friendly initiatives to ensure access to justice.
• Committing to safeguard judicial officers from external pressure.
• Directing all the High Courts to establish structured complaint redressal mechanisms.
• Shaping a protective framework will be introduced within High Courts to shield judicial officers from interference, with complaints to be submitted to the relevant forum and addressed within a fixed time frame.
• Approving the establishment of a “Commercial Litigation Corridor” for expedited resolution of commercial cases and gave a green light to pilot the “Double Docket Court Regime” in selected districts as part of its commitment to speedy justice.
• Allowing constitutional petitions related to financial and tax matters to be heard by division benches in the High Courts.
• Forming a framework for Model Criminal Trial Courts to reduce delays in criminal cases.
• Founding a committee headed by Justice (retd.) Rehmat Hussain to ensure uniformity and high standards in the district judiciary. The committee will include the Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court, Registrars of all High Courts, and the Director General of the Federal Judicial Academy.
• Developing a Professional Excellence Index to guide the recruitment of lawyers as judges.

Moreover, the committee appreciated the reform-oriented presentation delivered by the Inspector General of Punjab Police. It also decided to issue SOPs for the appearance of under-trial prisoners and witnesses via video link, and the judicial academies will organise specialised training sessions for police officers.