The Special Anti-Narcotics Court-II in Rawalpindi, established to expedite hearings of rising drug cases, has been unable to function for over a month due to a lack of a courtroom for the appointed judge. Judge Khalid Bashir Cheema was assigned to the court a month ago but has not been allocated a courtroom, preventing any sessions from taking place.
Judge Without a Courtroom
According to sources, Judge Cheema reports to the court daily but spends his time in a fellow judge's chamber, chatting and eating, before returning home without hearing any cases. This has halted the disposal of drug cases, which continue to accumulate.
Case Backlog and Transfers
More than 600 drug cases were already under trial in Rawalpindi. The Islamabad special anti-drug court, located on the M-1 motorway, transferred all drug cases from its jurisdiction to Rawalpindi, adding 400 cases and bringing the total to 1,000. Cases from the Rawalpindi Anti-Narcotics Force Police Station, Dina Police Station, and Attock Police Station have been allotted to Court-II, but due to its non-functioning, these cases have completely stalled.
Rawalpindi District Bar Association President Tariq Mahmood Sajid Awan and senior criminal lawyer Shanzeb Khan have appealed to the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court to immediately allocate a courtroom to Judge Cheema so that trials can commence. They emphasized that the overflow of cases necessitates urgent action to activate the court.
