Peshawar Roundtable Consultation

RSIL held a roundtable consultation in Peshawar with members of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s legal and academic community to explore barriers to judicial careers and gaps in legal education and professional training. Attendees included senior advocates Ajoon Khan, Ali Gohar Durrani, and Salim Shah Hoti, the Director General of the KP Judicial Academy, Additional Advocate General Noman ul Haq, Iftikhar Ahmed (Head of Department, Islamia College), and Advocate Nida Khan. The discussion highlighted declining legal education quality, with participants noting that legal ethics has not been formally taught in KP institutions for decades and that academia remains isolated from the Bar due to restrictions on practicing faculty. The DG KP Judicial Academy shared that only 9 out of 84 candidates passed the most recent district judiciary exam, emphasising the urgent need for structured exam preparation resources. Participants strongly endorsed structured inter-provincial exchange programmes and formal mentorship as essential tools for building a more capable and representative district judiciary.