Having its distinctive historical background and a classical geographical location, in its vicinity lines the three organs of the state, Supreme Court Registry, Provincial Assembly, and Executive Barracks with multiple recreational places such as Art’s Council and Frere Hall with a think-tank known as Pakistan Institute of International Affairs along with the Karachi Press Club, and all within a diameter of 1000 m. A wholesome of all this reminds me of the lensed Vincent Van Gogh, it portrays the miniature of a state with a lively spirit and organic existence of the Constitution of Pakistan as rational as it provides the fora of practical constitutionalism.
Established by Barrister Hassan Aly Rahman with its foundation stone laid down by the then Governor of Sindh, Sir Lancelot Graham aiding with his principal advisor, Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto on 10th July 1940 right after laying down a stone for Sindh Assembly on 11th March 1940.
The belief and vision in the continuation of democracy in Pakistan by Barrister Muhammad Ali Jinnah root a cognizance of the same buck up with the rise of chiliastic aspirations. This captivation resembles the inspiration from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who before commencing his political career as the commerce minister in 1958, used to taught Public International Law (1954-1958) and as time proceeds, he become a promulgator of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 of the next decade.
Many other luminaries in Pakistan’s constitutional and political history have their roots shared from the same institution, where one has given four Chief Justices of Pakistan, namely, CJP Ajmal Mian, who was preceded by CJP Syed Sajjad Ali Shah, who was succeeded by CJP Saeed uz Zaman Siddiqui, and the most recent 27th CJP Gulzar Ahmad, along with numerous other justices of the High courts and uncountable in the lower courts
Buried in the dust and dirt of the metropolitan city, under the nose of the Sindh government, Bar and the Bench has taken a lot but unfortunately has been unable to fulfill its alumni pledge in carrying forward the legacy put forth by its founders, faculty, and students. No heeding has been given to it, which seems repugnant to the Sindh government party’s manifesto or public policy of making institutions stronger thus instead such institutions are dwelled on their own to thrive the survive.
However, it just requires an eye to see and a little attention, as to make it an Inn of the country, a state-of-the-art institution, and a pioneer of parliamentary sovereignty breaking the odd and, the patterns of colonial stereotype custom of becoming acumen or jurist in law to go to foreign or elsewhere.
Introducing in such a way altogether, the formerly mentioned academia into an “educational city or some model” will make it stand distinguished among the giants of Developed cities of the common law world such as Westminster, Manchester, London, and Edinburgh or Stratford to make it an icon of South Asia as has the luminaries of it has shared their background from India, Bangladesh and some from Afghanistan having their shared history.
Witnessing the presence in their faculty, Liaquat Ali Khan to Lord Denning, a prominent jurist of the UK, and many other chief justices of foreign states, expectations roses up with exceptional implants ultimately leading to proficiency, revolutionizing the educational environment. Whereas looking at Pakistan’s most historic institution, S.M. Govt. Law College is left at the mercy of the dozy educational department and board of governors of the law college who meet only twice a year, wasting minutes without any development. The Sindh government in furtherance is infringing the right to education by not providing any funds, swallowing the meaning of educational institutions built for the welfare of future generations therefore, in its aftermath the college has to increase the fee making it one of the most expensive law colleges at the public sector in Sindh with some iota of sub-standard facilities and examination policies condemned by Supreme court.
Delayed examinations and subsequent awards of degrees have burdened the finances of students who come across far-flung areas of Pakistan. An institution, which has ennobled the advocates of democracy and constitutionalism, is now left in the dearth. An unlike situation otherwise of historical excellence, It has become an ironical habit of the nation that even at minimal it’s unable to achieve the status of autonomous in other words to be declared as a university or at least a degree awarding institution in the eye of Alma or Government. However, in the case of IBA Sukkur or GIMS Khairpur, or Kali Mori College Hyderabad which turned into a university, S M law College instead is still under the affiliation of the University of Karachi who are incapable of promptly and efficiently managing the conduct, the timely examinations converting 5 years Law degree into 7 years due to poor or lack of time management skills and maladministration and their writ as influential as even after filing of their own undertaken statements for mitigating these delays in High Court of Sindh in C.P. D-711/2018, they stand themselves irrelevant to the judgment order of the Hon’ble Court making their locus standi in contempt.
Nonetheless, the Supreme Court after having seen the article by Ardeshir Cowasjee, “Looking into the future” the August court, took accumulative action for the pending proceedings of legal education since 2012 and gave comprehensive reasoning for the importance of legal education, the Court’s Declaration and Directions’ in (2019 SCMR 396) which had coin sided effects on legal education. On one side, a positive one, for regulating legal education along with by laws of PBC Legal Education Rules,2015 and HEC Law Curriculum, 2015 a perfect nectar but the Bar miserably failed to realize the true intent and wisdom of the judgment order and the powers which were conferred upon them as watchdogs for legal education over the universities and colleges and as of the substandard legal education, the Bar as watchdogs and the universities for not maintaining in their affiliations stand in contempt of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s restrictions on enrollments have deteriorated the conditions of legal institutions and denied students their fundamental rights to equality and justice by placing a cap on the number of enrollees. In exchange, the judgment had an effect on the institution’s finances, which they used to raise a threshold of fee structures that were affordable for the students.
It is undoubtedly the responsibility of the Bar and Bench to filter out through competitive assessment and grant the license, allowing to practice law. Although to some extent, these determined and ambitious students passing these stages for earning the license are restrained and hindered by overwhelming formalities, especially in the legal awareness of the society amid the current constitutional crises, and are thus vital signs of raising questions on the construction of the benches of the August Court these days. In academic parlance, these restrictions are at the same level as the PECA Ordinance, congesting Freedom of Press and Speech and clogging Access to the Administration of Justice. Here we need to think it over, is it because the Lawyer’s Movement shackled the dictatorship so as to limit the number of lawyers in the country or to lower the legal awareness in the public by imposing a bar on its educational institutions? Highlighting here Zia ul Haq’s ban on student unions, that a law institution is a school of deep critique and a political on its own, an awful irony to know is that these basics are taught at the primary level in other countries, where the schools alert and gives awareness about the “Rights of Miranda” concerning police arrests, contrary to our society, which stops us from pursuing a legal education at the university level by limiting the number of seats. This is an immediate sabotaging of fundamental rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations and likewise in our Constitution whose motto lies in the sovereignty of the state which lies in the Peace and Security of the nation. The communities of the world work on those exact principles of policy consequently it is, in the ambit of security we must learn about the policy and the laws of the nation.
Supreme Court once again, in its original jurisdiction, must take notice and derive a framework as followed by the Institute of Chartered Accountant’s Pakistan (ICAP) and vitalize its role in the dispensation of legal education and be the watchdog along with all the Bars under the ambit of right and justice with Quality Assurance Committee headed by any incumbent Chief Justice of Pakistan and thereupon put emphasis on the Socratic method of teaching law instead of customary syllabus and cramming examinations, to improve and developed legal system and the structural reforms from the roots.
