Paktika breaks ground on first courthouse

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The legal process in the Paktika province will receive a much-needed boost in the way of facilities as the provincial governor and several provincial officials broke ground on Paktika’s first provincial courthouse July 16.

Currently, the provincial court and its officials occupy several non-descript buildings throughout the city of Sharana.

This arrangement is not conducive to an efficient legal process, as prosecutors and judges are forced to hold court in temporary locations sometimes far away from their own offices, said provincial governor Moheebullah Samim.

Officials hope the courthouse will fix many of those problems when it is completed near the end of next year.

“I’m very happy to be at this ground breaking ceremony today,” said Samim. “It’s more than a foundation for a wall we are building today. It’s a foundation for justice throughout this province.”

The courthouse will contain 18 different rooms, including three dedicated court rooms. The remaining rooms will be offices for prosecutors, judges and other legal services.

In addition to the main building, the site will contain a composting latrine as well as a generator room.

“We need a building like this in order for us to advance the legal system here,” said Juma Mohammed, Paktika province sub governor. “We’d like to have more skilled officials from Afghanistan to work in the court and practice law, and this building will entice them to do so.”

At least 30 people will be employed during the length of the project, almost all of them local Afghans as well as some local graduates of the vertical skills development workshop held in Sharana.

“This building will help bring more justice to the people,” said Mohammed Jabid Noori, a native of Orgun and the head contractor on the project. “It will be great to have all the legal services under one roof here. I’m grateful to be able to provide both this building as well as necessary jobs for my own province.”