Court security infrastructure in shambles

RAWALPINDI: Eight months after the main entrance gates and related security facilities at the 130-year-old Rawalpindi District Courts were demolished for the Kachehry Underpass project, reconstruction work has still not started, prompting concern over security arrangements and conditions for police personnel posted at the site.

The two main gates, police guard rooms and a designated screening area for women were torn down on November 3, 2025 for the underpass scheme. According to officials and lawyers, rebuilding the gates was part of the obligations of the project committee, but the work remains pending despite the passage of months.

With the original structures gone, entry to the court complex is currently possible through an open area without proper screening, which officials and members of the legal community say has created a serious security vulnerability. Before the demolition, checkpoints had been operating at the Kachehry Chowk side and at the gate opposite Jinnah Park, while women visitors were screened in a separate enclosed space.

The original iron main gate that was removed during construction has also reportedly been left out in the open and has started to rust.

Police working in makeshift shelters

Police personnel deployed at the district courts say they have had to put together temporary shelters from wooden shuttering boards to shield themselves from the summer heat. The structures, they say, are not stable and have collapsed several times during strong winds. The metal roofing used over them also becomes extremely hot in direct sunlight.

Officers remain on duty from 7am to 5pm in harsh weather without fans, cooling arrangements or an official supply of drinking water. Some personnel have reportedly experienced nosebleeds and other heat-related health problems while on duty, and they say they arrange drinking water on their own expense.

Bar seeks early action

Police officials and lawyers have called on the authorities to immediately build permanent and properly ventilated guard rooms, restore the women’s screening facility and reconstruct the main entrance gates so that security and working conditions at the court complex can be improved.

Rawalpindi District Bar Association President Tariq Mahmood Sajid Awan said the issue had been taken up with the police, judicial authorities, the High Court administration and the government. He said he hoped an early decision would be made to install modern entrance gates, covered guard rooms and proper screening arrangements in line with current security requirements.