The government considers reviving the magistrate system.

The administration has established a powerful 18-member committee to investigate the possibility of reintroducing the previous magistracy system.
September 30 is the deadline set for the panel to produce its recommendations.

According to sources, the committee’s report might determine whether the system is fully or partially restored. The group, which consists of senior bureaucrats who are now working and those who have retired, is anticipated to convene for the first time next week.

Under the police directive of General Musharraf, the magistracy system was abolished in 2001. Prior to that, assistant commissioners and deputy commissioners served as executive magistrates, regulating protests, monitoring pricing, punishing shopkeepers and holding summary trials for minor offences.

According to officials, in order to bring the system back to life, changes must be made to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), since only then can administrative officers be granted judicial authority. The committee’s responsibilities include evaluating the current legal and administrative structure at the district level and examining governance both before and after the 2001 devolution.

Additionally, it will examine examples from nations with comparable administrative histories to Pakistan’s and offer suggestions for enhancing law and order, governance, and the resolution of public grievances.

The system would give executive officers authority at the police station level if it were reintroduced. This authority would include monitoring protests, doing pricing checks, conducting surprise visits, and dealing minor offences through speedy trials.

There have also been previous attempts to revive it. The Law and Justice Committee of the National Assembly suggested a constitutional amendment in 2017, and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi proposed in 2022 that magistrates be given the authority to sentence people to one to three years in prison.

An independent price and anti-encroachment force was previously established in Punjab to prevent illegal structures and profiteering. If the magistracy system is reinstated, the committee will also consider how such parallel arrangements might function.