ADR No Longer an Option but a Necessity: Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar
Lahore, April 22, 2025 – The Federal Minister for Law and Justice, Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, while addressing the participants at the opening ceremony of the two-day training on arbitration, emphasized that in light of the overwhelming pendency of cases in courts, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is not a choice but a necessity. The training was organized by the International Mediation & Arbitration Centre (IMAC), under the Ministry of Law and Justice, in collaboration with the Punjab Bar Council.
The Minister underscored that lawyers are the future of ADR in Pakistan, and such training programs are instrumental in opening new avenues for legal practice, advocacy, and professional growth, especially in a global legal environment where arbitration and mediation are rapidly becoming the norm. He further added that Pakistani lawyers possess the potential not only to resolve local disputes efficiently through ADR but also to play a significant role in international arbitration, provided they acquire the necessary expertise and training.
Highlighting the government’s commitment to institutionalizing ADR, the Minister stated that the Ministry of Law and Justice has established IMAC to serve as a national institution for capacity building and to transform the dispute resolution landscape in Pakistan.
Mr. Irfan Sadiq Tarar, Vice Chairman of the Punjab Bar Council, thanked the Ministry of Law and Justice for organizing the training and noted that such initiatives are crucial for the professional development of lawyers. He expressed hope that similar capacity-building programs would continue to be held in the future. The event was attended by Mr. Ahmad Qayum, Member Punjab Bar Council, Additional Attorney Generals Mirza Nasar Ahmad and Muhammad Javed Pervaiz Akhtar.
The training featured sessions by renowned international arbitrators, including Mian Sheeraz Javed and Syed Hammad Yousaf Gillani, covering a wide array of topics such as the fundamentals of ADR, national and international arbitration frameworks, procedural aspects of arbitration, and practical insights into arbitration practice.
