Karachi( The COW News Digital) An overwhelming backlog of over 2.36 million legal cases is pending across Pakistan’s judicial system, from the Supreme Court down to district-level courts, according to data released by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan.
As of December 31, 2024, a total of 2,362,135 cases remain unresolved. The vast majority — nearly 83% or over 1.95 million cases — are pending in the country’s lower courts. The high courts are grappling with 406,377 cases, while the Supreme Court has over 57,000 cases pending. The Federal Shariat Court currently has 78 cases under review.
The Supreme Court had 57,666 cases on July 1, 2024. Between July and December, 8,496 new cases were filed, and 10,517 were decided, slightly reducing the total pending to 57,316. Similarly, the Federal Shariat Court received 21 new cases and disposed of 20, bringing its total to 78 cases.
Among the high courts, Lahore High Court has the highest number of pending cases at 198,005, followed by Sindh High Court with 86,421, Peshawar High Court with 40,667, Islamabad High Court with 18,618, and Balochistan High Court with 5,272 cases pending.
At the district level, Punjab leads with the highest backlog — 1,491,951 cases as of December 31. Between July and December 2024 alone, Punjab’s district courts registered over 2 million new cases and decided approximately 1.88 million.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s district courts hold 254,830 pending cases after resolving more cases than received during the last six months. In Sindh, 142,435 cases remain undecided. Islamabad’s district courts have 51,542 pending cases, and Balochistan follows with 18,685.
The massive backlog remains a critical concern for the judiciary and the public alike, as millions await justice, some for years. Legal experts blame chronic understaffing, procedural delays, and lack of digital infrastructure for the judicial gridlock.
Authorities are expected to present reform recommendations to expedite case resolution, but meaningful progress remains uncertain. Until then, over 23 lakh Pakistanis continue to wait for their day in court.
