Footprints: Dialling for justice
“I am going to kill that politician and then I’ll turn myself in,” says the man decisively.
The caller then describes his motive for wanting to commit the murder — to avenge the alleged abuse and forceful marriage of his wife, and rape of other women.
“I will be saving several families by doing so and a lot of women from being abused,” his voice quivers at the mention of his wife.
He had sought help from the legal system to rescue his wife but that led him nowhere. This call was his last resort, his last appeal for justice before taking the law into his own hands.
On the other end of the line is a female lawyer working at the Legal Advisory Call Centre inaugurated last year in May in Karachi. She hurriedly types the case details, assuring him there is a way out and promises to get back to him within 24 hours with legal advice.
The call is marked as ‘High Priority’ and referred to a judicial committee that discusses the legalities of the caller’s case.
In an elongated hall 20 lawyers sit, all uniformly dressed in white attire over black coats, a few with their noses buried in thick law books while the rest answer a continuous barrage of calls on their computers, some in Sindhi, others in Punjabi. At the far end of the room is a banner “Insaf sub ka haq” (Justice for All). A maxim summing up what they want to achieve at the centre.
The legal advice imparted is free, focused on helping people who do not have access to the formal justice system.
The centre has been put together by retired Justices Nasir Aslam Zahid and Arif Khilji of the Supreme Court and sponsored by the Enhanced Democratic Accountability and Civic Engagement (EDACE).
The procedure set by them is simple and efficient. Anyone wanting guidance on any legal matter can call the helpline 0800-70806, a lawyer receives the call, jots down details and gives counsel immediately if the query is common. If it is complex with sensitive facts, the advocate consults senior lawyers and gives advice within 24 hours. If a caller seeks assistance in a criminal case, the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee is involved and the caller is asked to get an FIR lodged with them.
“Majority of the callers seek advice on issues such as inheritance, marriage, dowry, child custody and service sector,” says Justice Khilji. “The solution to the problem is at times simple. People just need to be told about their rights.”
“Sometimes an incorrect procedure can prolong a case for many years,” says Tahira Sayani, an advocate at the centre.
“A caller needed help in an encroachment case. After he told us the details we found out he had been filing the wrong case for years. We guided him over each and every aspect of the case and he managed to acquire ownership of his land,” says Ms Sayani.
A large LED screen placed in the main room of the centre refreshes with new updates. A picture of a lawyer flickers under the title “Star Employee” followed by his/her high score, calculated on the basis of the number of people he/she has guided during the day. Another division on the screen shows the statistics of calls for the day, the satisfactory level at which calls were handled and the number of cases closed.
“We take calls from 9am to 6pm. Calls coming in later are recorded and next morning we return every call. We also give every caller the option of calling them ourselves if they are unable to afford it,” says Ms Sayani.
Eight lawyers take calls simultaneously and the rest carry out background research. The long rack lined in the corner of the room stacked with thick law books does not go untouched. Buried in Law and Procedure for Suits and Defences, Zeeshan Haider speaks about the research that is involved.
“We have to first categorise the case, then cross-check the relevant law, see who is involved and what is the penalty, if any. Also, if there is any financial recovery possible for the plaintiff we refer to past judgements.”
The call centre, so far the only legal one in Pakistan, is heavily reliant on funding. “EDACE is supporting the current phase of the call centre till March 2015 and they intend to extend their sponsorship for another three years. The government has not contributed anything,” says Justice Zahid.
In a period of eight months, the centre has received over 3,000 calls from all over the country and the diversified pool of people who have contacted them suggests that advice is being sought on legal matters irrespective of social background.
A farmer in Bahawalpur reached out to them when his son had been taken by a landlord to work in the fields in exchange for some money. But after some time, there was no news of his son.
“We told him what he could do to legally recover his son. A few days later he called us back to inform us that his son had returned,” says Mr Haider.
“We leave every day satisfied that we have helped some families and that is all we need to keep going.”
Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2015
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