On November 8, the Lahore Chapter of the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN) organized a seminar on Pakistan’s legislation on torture and its challenges.  45 lawyers and U.S. exchange alumni members attended the event in the Bar Room of the Supreme High Court of Lahore.

Alumni who are specialists in dealing with criminal cases spoke about torture, including international conventions and national legislation on the subject.  International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumnus Shamim Malik shared his exchange experience and offered a comparison between the U.S. and Pakistani implementation of laws on torture.

While discussing the challenges faced by the Pakistani courts in the implementation of the laws, he discussed the roles of substantive and procedural laws under the umbrella of the Pakistani Penal Codes. The seminar was followed by an interactive Q&A session in which participants discussed possible techniques to improve the Pakistani criminal justice system.