Paralegal Training

In 1991 LHRLA was the first to introduce the concept of paralegal training workshops in Pakistan. To date 8 such two-week intensive workshops have been conducted. Five have been held in Karachi, two in Islamabad and one in Hyderabad. During the course of the workshops the participants were taken to courts, police stations and shelters in order to expose them to real life situations. The primary objective of paralegal training given by LHRLA has been to raise the level of legal awareness in the country, and enable those who have benefited to spread this knowledge further. It works on the principle that imparting such training has a chain effect and the ramifications could be far reaching. It also plans to offer training courses to enable other interested persons or organisations to offer legal aid and legal services.

The then Chief Justice of Supreme Court Afzal Zullah and Mr. Abdul Sattar Edhi giving away certificates to the participants of First Para Legal Training Programme held in 1991 for women leaders at Karachi

Participants of 2nd paralegal training programme organized by LHRLA

One of the paralegal training sessions that LHRLA had organized was held from 27th to 31st August 1999, in which various discriminatory laws and legal practices came under discussion. The 5-day paralegal training and capacity building program was an intensive course designed to enhance the capabilities of the NGO workers, activists, academics and others for further dissemination.

The various paralegal training programmes organised by LHRLA have been attended by NGOs as well as other concerned organisations for instance; Shirkat Gah, WAR (War against Rape) and Idara Aman-o-Insaaf, who after receiving training started their own training programs.