Dastageer Legal Aid Network, Pakistan
Vision: Accessing Justice for all. Mission: To provide quality legal aid services to women, juvenile and marginalized communities and ensure efficient, responsive, inexpensive, expeditious and accessible justice for all. Introduction and Background
Dastageer Legal Aid Network (DLAN) is a not for profit network based in Karachi, Pakistan. It was established du
ring implementation of grant “Access to Justice for Vulnerable Population in Pakistan” launched in 2013 by The Asia Foundation and supported by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL), US Department of State. Under this grant, Dastageer Legal Aid Centres (DLACs) were established in 13 judicial districts in Pakistan i.e. Karachi, Hyderabad, Jacobabad, Lahore, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Nankana Sahib, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Swat and Quetta. The grant was implemented by a group of 13 organizations, 13 law firms and 65 independent lawyers across Pakistan. DLACs have provided legal aid, legal assistance and psycho-social support to the women, victim of gender base violence, minorities and person with disabilities who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system in Pakistan. Its member organizations provided legal aid to 5,732, legal assistance to 12,510, Psycho-social support to 3,632 and provided legal assistance telephonically to 16,420 persons across Pakistan. During 2021, it was mutually decided that these 13 DLACs will be converted into a legal aid provider’s platform as Dastageer Legal Aid Network, Pakistan. Legal Rights Forum (LRF), one of the active implementation partner of TAF in Sindh, was nominated to be the founder host of this Network on voluntarily basis due to LRF’s potential and vast experience in managing networks besides providing legal aid to the children, women and marginalized communities; and its proactive role in ongoing struggle for institutionalization of legal aid mechanism, improving criminal justice system and strengthening the rule of law since 2007. The senior management of LRF discussed the matter in detail and decided to host this network and re-strategize it. LRF has recently revised DLAN vision, mission and scope of work . Recently, LRF has re-launched the Network in association with its members in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Larkana, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad; it has now 9 organizations, 9 law firms and 45 independent lawyers across Pakistan. DLAN members are providing Legal aid, legal assistance and rehabilitation and re integration services to prisoners including women children, persons with disabilities, Transgender and minorities. It is also raising awareness on human rights, civil liberties, counseling in legal procedures and even representation in court at all levels. DLAN is also addressing challenges in justice sector such as inhuman prison conditions/judicial lockups, lengthy pre-trial detentions, illegal detentions, and long trials.