Pakistan’s steps toward progress and prosperity are being slowed down by corruption and incompetence, said Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali on Saturday.

Addressing the Azad Kashmir Judicial Conference 2016 at a reception here, the chief justice said the country could be put on the path to progress and prosperity by eliminating corruption and incompetence.

He said 60 percent of cases had been pending with the high court’s for a long time and the main reasons for the backlog were incompetence, negative thinking, and corruption in government departments.

He said 20 percent cases were pending in the courts due to mala fide intentions, egotism and the case for case trend.

He said judges were the servants of the masses and not their rulers.  He said the attitude of judges towards the parties should be positive, God-fearing, tolerant and amicable during the hearing of cases.

He further added that peace was impossible without a judicial system and that self-accountability was inevitable for good governance. “Since judges perform a sacred duty, their attitude should be positive in the courts,” he said.

Justice Jamali said improvement could be brought in the judicial system through the use of the latest technology and there was also a need to benefit from the experiences of other countries in this regard. He said corruption and incompetence were eating the country like termites.

Justice Jamali said Kashmiris must be allowed to exercise their right to self-determination in accordance with the UN resolutions. He said the Muslim countries were facing conspiracies from outside while inside they faced chaos.

He said the bar was an important part of the judicial system and therefore the duties of its members were manifold.

“Creation of an effective society is impossible without flushing out basic social ailments,” he added.  He said it was the responsibility of judges to change their attitude and fulfill the requirements of the Constitution and the law.

He urged the bar to cooperate with the judiciary in order to improve the judicial system.

CJP urged the bar not to pressurise judges so that the court proceedings could be completed in a pleasant atmosphere.   Chief Justice of Azad Jammu and Kashmir also addressed the conference.