1st YinG Lecture “Accountability & Rule of Law” at Indus Institute of Higher Education on 15th May, 2008

The YinG Club of Transparency International Pakistan is moving ahead to reinforce its efforts to educate and train the youngsters of their rights and responsibilities in the society in a very civilized manner. The first YinG Club Lecture in this regard was held on 15th May, 2008 at Indus Institute of Higher Education. The topic of the lecture “Accountability & Rule of Law” was very fascinating and appealing to the students. The speaker for the lecture was one of the most respected Justice (R) Nasir Aslam Zahid. He had been the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court and then a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan.

The session was started with the recitation of the verses of Holy Quran. The guests of the lecture with Justice (R) Nasir Aslam Zahid were Dr. Munir Ahmed, Rector Indus Institute of Higher Education (I.I.H.E), Mr. Wahid Farooqi, Director I.I.H.E., Mr. Saad Rashid Executive Director TI-Pakistan. The lecture was attended by more than 120 youngsters and the faculty of the I.I.H.E.

Mr. Saad Rashid in his opening address enlightened the audience about the objective and mission of Transparency International Pakistan. He informed them that TI-Pakistan slogan is “Strives to make Pakistan a better place to live in”. He apprised the audience about the programs of TI-Pakistan in different government and private sectors. He also informed the students about the YinG program and the activities proposed by the YinG Club. He encouraged the students to join hands to fight the hazards of corruption.

This was followed by the speech of the honorable speaker of the day, Justice (R) Nasir Aslam Zahid. He started with the clear explanation of Rule of Law. He said that there is an apparent constitution of Pakistan which describes the laws for the country and judiciary. He threw light on the judicial system of the country and the condition of courts where thousands of cases are in pending. He told that among thousands of prisoners interred in different prisons of Pakistan, the rate of conviction is only ten percent and the condition is worse in India as their conviction rate is five percent.

He informed the audience that in Pakistan, hardly 2 to 3 percent of the cases reach the Supreme Court and about 5 percent to the High Court, 80 to 90 percent of cases are dealt with by the lower courts. It is the subordinate judiciary- the magistrates, civil judges and district judges, that the common citizens come into contact with. So while the Supreme Court may pass beautiful and good judgments, the common man may not get any benefit out of it. Therefore it is the responsibility not only of the Supreme Court but of the High Courts to supervise the lower courts and see to it that justice is done by the lower courts.

He also highlighted that there are only thousand magistrates for the entire Pakistan with about 170 million population. He emphasized on the word “Empathy” in the judiciary.        He said until a judge will not feel what the person is pleading to him, he can’t take the right decision.

In conclusion, he said that there must be effective institutions in the country and for effective institutions judiciary should be available and accessible.

This was followed by an interactive question and answer session. Youngsters enthusiastically asked questions about the alarming condition of law and order. They inquired that what should be the role of students to maintain rule of law in the country. Justice Nasir encouraged the students to take part in wholesome activities. He advised that they should send their suggestions to the print and electronic media. 

Mr. Wahid Farooqi and Mr. Khalid in their address to the audience appreciated the efforts of TI-Pakistan to mobilize and train youth. This was followed by the vote of thanks of Dr. Munir Ahmed, Rector I.I.H.E. He congratulated TI-Pakistan for organizing such events for the benefit of youngsters.

At the end the plaques and gifts were presented to all the guests and speaker of the session. The lecture ended with the great applause by the youngsters.