Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday announced a firm timeline to clear all pending death penalty appeals within the next 45 days.
The decision came during the monthly Reforms Action Plan meeting chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi. The session was attended by the president and secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association and other key officials.
During the meeting, officials reviewed pending jail appeals in death penalty and criminal cases. When CJP Afridi assumed office, 384 death penalty appeals were awaiting resolution. That number has now fallen to 107, with 449 cases resolved and 172 new appeals filed since October 26, 2024.
Life imprisonment appeals, initially totaling 4,160, have decreased to 3,608. A schedule to resolve these cases will be set after completing death penalty appeals. Priority will be given to petitions from convicts aged 80 and above.
CJP Afridi highlighted the progress in digitisation, noting that a significant portion of judicial records is now online. He praised the bar for providing soft copies and supporting e-filing.
Officials also briefed the court on case categorisation, expected to finish in two months, and confirmed that a barcoding system for tracking files will be fully implemented within 15 days.
