Events

Successful defense of clients and changes to the judicial system is the focus of much of our work. However, we recognize that without a shift in culture, public debate, and opinion toward the death penalty, Pakistan will never fully resolve the issue.

Thus, we also work with artists, prisoners on death row, and their families to develop a public dialogue around the death penalty. We have had dramatic readings of prisoners on death row. We have staged two screenings of Loreleia, a dramatic monologue of a mother whose son was brutally murdered by a mentally ill criminal. And, we are planning a collaboration with media partners to produce a television film focusing on the futility of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime.

‘You Can Stop This At Any Time’

1st – 3rd March, 2019 | Karachi

“You Can Stop This At Any Time” is a live performance art installation by Justice Project Pakistan and Highlight Arts designed to challenge the audience’s moral apathy and indifference to the death penalty.

JPP HOSTS INAUGURAL CONGRESS – ‘PRESERVING THE RIGHT TO LIFE’

24 Oct 2016 | Islamabad

Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) held its Inaugural Congress on “Preserving the Right to Life” in Islamabad here on Monday 24 OCTOBER 2016.

The event comprised of a series of panel discussions and satellite activities including a photography exhibition, a live mural, installations and a mime theatre performance.

FAMILIES OF MIGRANT WORKERS PROTEST INADEQUATE GOVERNMENT PROTECTION

29 Aug 2016 | Lahore

With the support of human rights law firm, Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), the families of Pakistani migrant workers held a demonstration outside the Lahore Press Club to protest inadequate government protection for their loved ones facing execution in Saudi Arabia.

Around 120 family members gathered in Lahore from different parts of the country, appealing to the government for help. “Where do we go?” added one grieving mother who has not seen her son in years. “Who do we talk to?”

JPP TAKES TO THE STREETS

29 July 2016 | Lahore

JPP commissioned artist Bibi Hajra Cheema to draw a caricature depicting the victims of the ATA. Five figures holding placards as they are photographed for a mug shot are shown, one of which is a juvenile and another is faceless. The faceless figure is supposed to denote that anyone can fall prey to the glaring violations of the ATA. The caricature was blown up to 5 feet by 9 feet, and was mounted onto an easel. The campaign was titled Koi Bhi, Kahin Bhi, Kissi Bhi Waqt i.e. Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime.

JPP planned to make pop up appearances in collaboration with the Independent Theatre Company in six different locations of the city. The cut-out was used to get the attention of the public. When the crowd would gather, flyers (Annex A) were distributed and JPP staffers gave them a quick introduction to the ATA, what it overlooks and how it could affect them.

JPP HOLDS PANEL DISCUSSION ON “REVISITING PAKISTAN’S COUNTER-TERRORISM STRATEGY” AT LUMS

13 April 2016 | Lahore

JPP in collaboration with Lahore University of Managment Sciencs (LUMS) Model UN Society held a panel discussion titled ‘Who are we hanging? Revisiting Pakistan’s Counter-terrorism Strategy’ at Lahore University of Management Sciences on, 13 April 2016.

The discussion was moderated by Rashed Rahman, former editor of the Daily Times and former executive director of The Nation. Ayesha Siddiqa, author of ‘Military Inc.’, military scientist and political commentator, and Saroop Ijaz, lawyer at Human Rights Watch joined Sarah Belal, barrister and director of Justice Project Pakistan as panellists at the event.

JPP HOLDS PANEL DISCUSSION “TERROR ON DEATH ROW” AT FORMAN CHRISTION COLLEGE

22 Feb 2016 | Lahore

Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) collaborated with the Forman Journalism Society to hold a panel discussion titled ‘Terror on Death Row’ at Forman Christian College in February 2016 as part of the American Bar Association programme “Strengthening Rule of Law: promoting due process and fair trial standards in Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Courts”. Renowned journalist and security analyst Ejaz Haider and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Assistant Professor Uzair Kayani joined JPP’s Executive Director, Sarah Belal, on the stage in front of a large number of students as well as practitioners from law and journalism.

‘BRING BACK OUR SONS FROM SAUDI JAILS’; JPP JOINS FAMILIES OF MIGRANT WORKERS TO PROTEST BRUTAL TREATMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA

7 Jan 2016 | Lahore

Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) joined the families of Pakistani migrant workers to protest outside the Lahore Press Club about the poor treatment of their loved ones at the hands of the Government of Saudi Arabia. 23 Pakistani citizens were beheaded in 2015 – it’s unlikely that their trials met the stringent requirements of international law for a fair trial and due process.

MNA Ali Muhammad Khan Promises to Raise the Issue of Overseas Pakistani Prisoners in Parliament

9 Feb 2017 | Islamabad

ISLAMABAD, 09 February 2017: Lawmaker Ali Muhammad Khan, member of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice, stated his commitment to take up the plight of overseas Pakistanis in Parliament.

He added that he would take up the individual cases of the victims of drug trafficking with Sartaj Aziz, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs.

JPP Organizes Screening of LIMBO

30 March 2016 | Lahore

LAHORE, 30 March 2016: Justice Project of Pakistan (JPP) held a screening of LIMBO, a dramatic reading performance of letters of death row prisoners across Pakistan, for students and faculty member at LACAS, Burki Campus, on March 30, 2016.

The performance, starring Erfan Khoosat, Sarmad Khoosat and Nadia Afghan, was first staged at the Khayal Festival in November 2015 by JPP in collaboration with OLOMOPOLO Media and featured a reading of letters from prisoners on death row across Pakistan telling their stories in their own words.

Intezaar: Stories from Pakistani gallows

6 April 2017 | Lahore

LAHORE, 6 April 2017: Justice Project Pakistan, Ajoka Theatre Pakistan, Highlight Arts and Complicite staged Intezaar – The Wait today at Forman Christian College Lahore, an immersive theatre piece built upon the real-life accounts from Pakistan’s 8000-strong death row. The play was staged on April 06, 2017.

10 April 2017 | Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI, 10 April 2017: Justice Project Pakistan, Ajoka Theatre Pakistan, Highlight Arts and Complicite staged Intezaar – The Wait today at National College of Arts Rawalpindi, an immersive theatre piece built upon the real-life accounts from Pakistan’s 8000-strong death row. The play was staged on April 10, 2017.

11 April 2017 | Faisalabad

FAISALABAD, 11 April 2017: Justice Project Pakistan, Ajoka Theatre Pakistan, Highlight Arts and Complicite staged Intezaar – The Wait today at Givernment College University Faisalabad, an immersive theatre piece built upon the real-life accounts from Pakistan’s 8000-strong death row. The play was staged on April 11, 2017.

JPP LAUNCHES A REPORT ON CLEMENCY FOR PRISONERS ON DEATH ROW IN PAKISTAN

11 April 2018 | Islamabad

Chaudhry Shafique, Commissioner from the National Commission on Human Rights stated that the clemency process in Pakistan is deficient, and recommended that improvements be made to align it with the country’s constitutional and international human rights obligations.

JOINT REPORT BY JPP AND HRW HIGHLIGHTS INJUSTICES FACED BY PAKISTANIS IN SAUDI CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

07 March 2018 | Islamabad

Pakistan must better protect its citizens by adopting a consular protection policy to better protect its citizens detained in jails all over the world, said Parliamentarians including Senator Farhatullah Babar and Parliamentarian Shireen Mazari at the launch of Caught in a Web: Treatment of Pakistani Prisoners in the Saudi Criminal Justice System, a joint report by Justice Project Pakistan and Human Rights Watch.