Govt brings in system for speedy justice

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated the Case Assignments and Management System (CAMS), a transformative initiative designed to provide transparent, efficient and speedy justice for litigants.

During the launching ceremony, the prime minister highlighted the long-standing demand from applicants and litigants for a more transparent and timely justice system, which the CAMS is set to address.

“Case Assignments and Management System was long overdue because litigants and applicants from all over the country wanted transparent and speedy justice, and this initiative will go a long way to address their grievances and provide justice in a reasonable time frame,” he said while addressing the inauguration ceremony held here.

He also thanked the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and Canadian High Commission for providing funds for the project.

He mentioned that although, in the past, a track and trace system was introduced in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), it did not yield the desired results and ultimately failed.

However, he emphasised that due to his personal involvement, the current government had successfully launched an effective and efficient system that was now benefiting the people of Pakistan.

“FBR is now having a trial run of faceless interaction at Karachi port, and once it is fully operational, it will then be replicated at various sea ports, dry ports and other places all over the country,” he added. He regretted that trillions of rupees had delayed for decades due to corruption and lack of modern techniques. “I have been personally following this,” he said, adding that a couple of days earlier, he also met the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to request him ensuring speedy decisions on merit because trillions of rupees worth cases were pending at the tribunal level, at higher forums, high court, and the Supreme Court.

The prime minister pointed out that Pakistan was meant to lead many nations due to its tremendous natural and human resources.

“What has been lacking is will to do, had we utilised these factors earlier, Pakistan would have been transformed long ago.”

He expressed his resolve to recover each and every penny that was due for the betterment of the people of Pakistan.

He mentioned that after making mechanism functional, an amount of Rs24 billion was adjudicated by the Sindh High Court on merit and this money would now be deposited in the national exchequer.

Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, on the occasion, informed the audience that 98.5 percent of the federal government’s official work was now conducted through technology via the e-business portal.

He said the prime minister had always expressed concern over delays in the judicial system, and now the federal laws had been put on a mobile app, ensuring amendments were updated swiftly.

“Our response time for amendments is now just 48 hours,” he added.

UNODC Country Representative Troels Vester highlighted that his organization was committed to improving the justice system by making it faster, more efficient, and fairer for all through effective oversight mechanisms.

He extended appreciation to PM Shehbaz’s leadership in driving government reforms, particularly in modernising Pakistan’s justice sector.

He said this launch aligned directly with the prime minister’s e-office initiative, and the UNODC was grateful for the support from the Ministry of Law and Justice and its team, whose hard work had turned this vision into reality.

Canadian High Commissioner Leslie Scanlon said this milestone was significant for the Ministry of Law and Justice and showcased how Pakistan’s government was embracing automation, promoting digitalisation, and fostering transparency.

Additionally, she said, it also highlighted the government’s commitment to environmental conservation by reducing paper waste.

The prime minister also presented certificates of appreciation to the team members for their hard work.

Meanwhile, during a meeting with a delegation of the Pakistan Retail Business Council headed by Chairman Ziad Bashir, the prime minister directed the formation of a committee to resolve the issues faced by retail businesses and assured his government’s all-out support for the purpose.

He said that the retailers already under the tax net would not be burdened further rather efforts were being made to bring more retailers into the tax net, according to a PM Office press release.

He told the delegation members that the steps were being taken to curb smuggling in the guise of used goods.

The prime minister urged the local industry to adopt innovation and modern technology to enhance exports and compete in the international market.

He said that besides introducing reforms in the FBR, the government was also taking measures to promote a cashless economy.

The members of the delegation lauded the efforts by Shehbaz and his team for economic stability.

They viewed that the significant reduction in inflation and policy rate was leading to an increased consumption and production of goods.

The delegation members expressed the hope that the measures being taken by the government would further reduce the inflation rate and that the operational industry was begetting new employment opportunities.

They said that the government’s reformative measures would have far-reaching positive impacts on the economy and bringing more retailers into the tax net would increase revenue.

They also acknowledged the government’s efforts to resolve the issues faced by the retailers already in the tax net.

Besides CEO of Service Sales Corporation and CEO of Beechtree Shahryar Bakhsh, the federal cabinet members Ahsan Iqbal, Jam Kamal Khan, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Ali Pervaiz Malik and relevant senior officers attended the meeting.

Separately, the prime minister chaired an inter-ministerial meeting on a three-year plan regarding professional training of youth and their employability.

During the meeting, he was presented the plan about professional training of manpower in the fields of information technology, industry, nursing and other areas for seeking jobs in Pakistan and abroad.

He said the capable manpower of Pakistan was a real asset. It was priority of the government to equip the youth with professional training according to the demand at the international level.

The prime minister directed an increase in the institutions for training of nurses.

He said training of nurses according to international level should be ensured, adding, while providing professional training to youth in different fields, the demand in local industries and international market should be kept in view.

He assured that National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) would be given all required funding for the professional training of youth.

The NAVTTC should blacklist the training institutions which had bad performance and encourage those showing good results, he added.

The NAVTTC, ministries of information technology, overseas Pakistanis and health presented their programmes for the professional training of youth.

The meeting was informed that during the current year, the NAVTTC had provided training to 60,000 youth and by June 2025, it would impart training to 141,000 more youth. While in 2026, 250,000 and in 2027, 337,000 youth would be trained in different fields.

It was also told that under the NAVTTC, more than 29,000 persons were trained and subsequently they got jobs in Saudi Arabia while a target is set to provide professional training to 40,000 youth in 2025, 100,000 in 2026 and 150,000 in 2027 for acquiring jobs in Saudi Arabia.

Similarly, according to the target, by December 2025, 50,000 trained Pakistanis would get jobs in other countries while 100,000 would be employed abroad in 2026 and 200,000 in 2027.

It was briefed that the accreditation of Pakistani training institutes under the NAVTTC, with international institutions, was continuing rapidly.

By June 2025, according to the target, accreditation from 72 institutions would be acquired.

The meeting was apprised about the progress regarding the survey for demand of skills in the industries and professional training, application of modern curriculum, accreditation of local institutions and licensing of trainers.

More than 2,500 students of madaris were given training in different programmes while professional training would be ensured to 3,000 students of seminaries by June 2025, 20,000 in 2026, and 30,000 in 2027 in different fields.

These training programmes were also made available in the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

The Ministry of Information Technology informed the participants that it was taking steps to meet the target of training more than 92,000 youth in the latest IT courses and training of 2.1 million freelancers in the next three years.

The meeting was also given detailed briefing about the establishment of National ICT Skills ecosystem which would help youth in getting jobs in the local industry and abroad.

Detailed briefing was also given about the training programmes in the nursing field, demand for nursing and the employability of Pakistani nurses abroad. A roadmap for reforms in the nursing field was also laid down.

Federal Ministers Ahad Khan Cheema, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Health Dr Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath, Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed and high level officers attended the meeting.