Pakistan Democratic Party Leader Imtiaz Rashed Qureshi said the rulers have ended the lockdown across the country, but the doors of justice are still locked
Lahore: Pakistan Democratic Party Leader Imtiaz Rashed Qureshi addressed on satureday along with his colleagues Central Secretary General Syed Waqar Hussain Shah Janghi, Dr. Shahid Nasir, Muhammad Aslam Gondal Advocate, Choudhry Muhammad Afzal Advocate, Muhammad Shafiq Khokhar Advocate, Syed Khalid Gilani Advocate, Junaid Ahmed Puraacha Advocate, Shamaeela Munzer Advocate and others at Lahore High Court Bar.
He stated that the rulers have ended the lockdown across the country, but the doors of justice are still locked. This so-called “silent lockdown” imposed on the courts is essentially equivalent to a constitutional and economic murder of the legal community and the poor litigants.
He said that by opening courts only four days a week, the funeral of justice is being carried out. Thousands of cases are pending, litigants are suffering, and the livelihoods of lawyers are destroyed. If markets, factories, offices, and political gatherings can fully operate, then what is the obstacle to fully restoring the courts?
Head of PDP Imtiaz Rashed Qureshi added that delays in justice are actually the murder of justice itself. The current judicial system is not delivering justice to the poor but only dates.
In developed countries, justice is provided round-the-clock; there are “day and night courts,” mobile courts bring justice to people’s doorsteps, but in Pakistan, poor citizens are forced to wait for years in court queues.
He announced that if the unannounced lockdown of the courts is not immediately lifted, Pakistan Democratic Party will launch a nationwide protest movement in cooperation with the legal community, and will raise its voice at every democratic forum against the corrupt, inefficient, and outdated system imposed on the halls of justice.
He demanded from the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court:
- To immediately restore the full weekly functioning of courts.
- To operate courts in shifts day and night to clear pending cases.
- To establish mobile courts to deliver justice to people’s doorsteps.
- To end the economic killing of the legal community.
- To provide immediate, affordable justice to poor litigants.
He further stated that Pakistan Democratic Party will not remain a silent spectator but will continue to fight for the rights of the people.
Reported By : Court Reporter ,Lahore I May23 , 2026
