Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Chairman Hassan Raza Pasha said on Wednesday a committee had been constituted to formulate a policy for fixing cases and “removing obstacles” hindering the delivery of justice.

       The committee would comprise Supreme Court (SC) judges and a representative each from the PBC and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), he said while addressing a press conference outside the SC. A meeting of the committee would be held “very soon”, he added.

       Pasha shared these developments after Chief Jus-tice Qazi Faez Isa held a meeting with representatives of the lawyers’ bodies.

       A Dawn report, citing sources, said today that the meeting was called to discuss the formation of benches, pending cases, speedy administration of justice, and fixation and hearing of cases.

       In the absence of official data, sources also told Dawn that presently, about 57,000 cases are pending before the SC.

       Meanwhile, the judiciary faces criticism for a huge backlog of cases, the number of which has surpassed two million in superior and lower courts.

       In this connection, Pasha said CJP Isa sought their input on various pressing judicial matters today, particularly those related to the efficient administration of justice.

       “The CJP has formally sought written suggestions from our side,” he said.

       Outlining the role of the committee formed today, he said it would also provide updates to the PBC and other members of the legal fraternity regarding the progress in implementing these recommendations.

       Pasha went on to stress that the SC was dedicated to creating a sustainable long-term policy and expressed the apex court’s commitment to promptly resolving pending cases and ensuring equitable justice for all.

       He reiterated that the sole focus of the meeting was to collaboratively develop a comprehensive policy and mechanism designed to eliminate barriers obstructing the delivery of justice.

       A day ago, PBC Vice Chairman Haroon Rashid said that the apex court could clear the backlog of cases by constituting more benches. He pointed out that at present there are two or three regular benches to hear the cases.

       “Sometimes, four and very occasionally, five benches had been formed,” he said, adding that with the existing strength, the CJP could form six regular benches to hear the cases which would reduce the backlog. He had further said that the SC in the past wasted much-needed time on political cases.

       “The political cases could be disposed of in a couple of hearings as the apex court has to interpret the question of law,” he said, adding that the SC took months to decide even simple matters.