Karachi Roundtable Consultation

RSIL convened a roundtable consultation in Karachi bringing together a cross-section of Sindh’s legal community to discuss challenges facing the legal community, law students and district judiciary, and identify priorities for capacity building. Participants included Shahid Shafique (Dean, Denning Law School and former District Judge), Advocate Rashid Mustafa Solangi ( former District Judge), Samsam Ali Khan (Sindh Bar Council), Advocate Zehra Vehyani, Nadeem Soomro (Senior Faculty, Sindh Judicial Academy), Advocate Shazia Kasi and representatives from Ziauddin University, among others. Discussions surfaced critical gaps in judicial training and professional standards, including the need for province-specific training modules, the barriers women face in sustaining legal careers due to inflexible working conditions, and the urgent need for stress management support for district judges. Participants also highlighted significant generational and socioeconomic divides affecting access to legal careers, and debated the value of integrating digital training into judicial promotion exams to ensure uptake.