LAHORE, Jan 22: The failure of a cabinet committee to decide whether the home or law departments will control the proposed new prosecution service is rendering the Punjab government unable to recruit over 300 attorneys required to defend its cases in courts.

The indecision is also delaying the release of an Asian Development Bank loan which is linked to the creation of the prosecution service and consumer courts.

The proposed independent prosecution service is a part of the ADB-funded Access to Justice Programme for which it has already released the first instalment of $130 million to the federal government.

The second tranche of $90 million is being withheld reportedly because of the tussle between the home and law departments to control the new service. The cabinet committee was constituted around two months ago to resolve the issue but it has not met even for once, disrupting the programme to reform the prosecution side of especially the criminal justice, official sources informed Dawn on Thursday.

Headed by Law Minister Raja Basharat, the committee comprised Education Minister Imran Masood and secretaries of the home, law and finance departments. "We need around 300 law officers to plead provincial government's cases in especially criminal matters. But since the recruitment has been linked to the new service, we are facing difficulties in pursuing the cases and putting to task criminals," the sources said.

According to them, the province required around 167 deputy district attorneys, 105 assistant deputy attorneys and at least 10 district attorneys. There are 48 district attorneys for 34 districts but the province needs 10 more because of the posting of several of the existing staff in the anti-corruption, drug and central courts like the customs courts.

The sources said the law department, which controls the existing prosecution service, was employing lawyers to act as special public prosecutors to cover the shortage of the deputy district attorneys.

"These lawyers work on daily wages. But the problem is that winning cases is not their responsibility. Many concede bails to criminals the government need to punish through courts, and many others do not properly pursue hearings.

"We can only remove those interested only in the daily wages but can't proceed against them," they said. They said the problem of the shortage of staff was badly affecting the prosecution side. "We need to immediately recruit the required officers as we cannot reduce the number of courts," they said.

"We have been asking the authorities to allow us to recruit the staff which can be absorbed in the new service after its creation but no-one is listening to us," official sources said.

The provincial law department is controlling the existing prosecution side under its 1938 manuals. The independent section is headed by the special public prosecutor.

Pleading for the placement of the new service under the law department, sources said it was necessary because only law officers could properly prepare cases and plead them in courts, examine judgments and file appeals against them.

"Its not an administrative service which can be handled by the home department," they said. The federal interior ministry had initially asked for the placement of the new service under the home department because it was then considered a part of the police revamping plan.