Justice Project Pakistan

Justice Project Pakistan JPP investigates, litigates, educates, and advocates on their behalf.

Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) is a non-profit organization based in Lahore that represents the most vulnerable Pakistani prisoners facing the harshest punishments, at home and abroad. Our lawyers provide free legal representation to prisoners on death row and those unlawfully detained in secret prisons around the world. We litigate strategically to expose and redress key problems in Pakistan's cr

iminal justice system, such as fair trial and torture. We help educate national and international litigators at annual seminars and workshops in Pakistan.

Behind every number is a woman — a mother, a daughter, a sister — held in a system that was never built for her.Just 3.1...
18/05/2026

Behind every number is a woman — a mother, a daughter, a sister — held in a system that was never built for her.

Just 3.1% of Pakistan's prisons are exclusively for women. The rest? Separate barracks inside male facilities.

Invisibility is dressed up as accommodation.

It's time we see those women and act.

Data by Justice Project Pakistan, 2026

15/05/2026

A milestone moment for Justice Project Pakistan when its work was honoured with the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz 2026, Pakistan’s fourth-highest civilian award.

Presented to Barrister Sarah Belal, Executive Director of JPP, this recognition reflects nearly two decades of standing with people most vulnerable to the harshest punishments.

For JPP, this honour speaks to the lives, families, and communities behind the work: people on death row, survivors of custodial torture, prisoners with severe mental illness, Pakistanis detained abroad, women and children in detention, people affected by punitive drug policies, and those whose rights are too often overlooked.

This award marks a renewed commitment to justice, dignity, and protection for those who need it most.

Seventeen years. Hundreds of cases. One goal: showing up for people the system had already written off.Tonight, Pakistan...
13/05/2026

Seventeen years. Hundreds of cases.

One goal: showing up for people the system had already written off.

Tonight, Pakistan awarded Barrister Sarah Belal, the founder of Justice Project Pakistan with the most prestigious Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, for Excellence in Human Rights.

"This medal belongs to the people who trusted us when the system had abandoned them."

Pakistan honoured the work tonight. JPP goes back to work tomorrow.

“The work was always bigger than the award.”Seventeen years ago, a man on death row wrote a letter begging someone to sa...
13/05/2026

“The work was always bigger than the award.”

Seventeen years ago, a man on death row wrote a letter begging someone to save his life.

Sarah Belal picked up the phone.

That phone call became Justice Project Pakistan.

For 17 years, JPP has fought for people the system abandoned: juveniles on death row, prisoners with severe mental illness, torture survivors, and Pakistanis imprisoned abroad.

This week, that work was recognised with the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz 2026 for Excellence in Human Rights (Law).

But the work remains unfinished.

Pakistan honours it tonight. Tomorrow, we return to it.

Kanizan Bibi spent 30 years on death row.She hadn't spoken in decades. She couldn't feed herself. She couldn't dress her...
11/05/2026

Kanizan Bibi spent 30 years on death row.
She hadn't spoken in decades. She couldn't feed herself. She couldn't dress herself. And the state wanted to execute her.

Imdad Ali had been waiting 18 years. Schizophrenia. Psychic delusions. A system that saw a case number, not a person.

Justice Project Pakistan fought both of them to the Supreme Court and won.
Pakistan's highest court ruled that executing a mentally ill prisoner is unlawful.

Kanizan and Imdad are alive because someone refused to stop fighting.

08/05/2026

For every woman waiting in detention today, this is a beginning.

LAJA & Justice Project Pakistan conducted a training session for lawyers to defend women in drug cases with compassion, strategy, and dignity.

A Supreme Court judge quoted our research in a ruling.73% of Pakistan's prisoners haven't been convicted of anything. Pr...
06/05/2026

A Supreme Court judge quoted our research in a ruling.

73% of Pakistan's prisoners haven't been convicted of anything. Prisons are running at 152% capacity.

We put those numbers in a report, and this year, they ended up in a Supreme Court judgment directing courts to take overcrowding seriously when deciding bail.

That's why we do this work.

Annual Prisons Data Report 2024, with NCHR and NAPA. Link in bio.

06/05/2026

Kanizan Bibi was not just a name on a case file.

Arrested as a juvenile in 1989 and sentenced to death in 1991, she spent three decades on death row while living with severe schizophrenia.

Her case forced Pakistan to ask: Can the state execute a person who cannot understand their punishment?

In 2021, the Supreme Court commuted her death sentence. Kanizan’s story reminds us that justice must include dignity, mental health, and due process.

Watch her story. Remember her name.

Pakistan

Ever wondered how technology can make the law more accessible?This summer, join Vakeel Online and work at the intersecti...
01/05/2026

Ever wondered how technology can make the law more accessible?

This summer, join Vakeel Online and work at the intersection of law, technology, and public service. Starting June 2026, our 6-week internship programme offers hands-on experience across Communications and Tech, where you won’t just observe the work, you’ll actively contribute to it.

- 5 days a week
- 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- In-person (Lahore) | Unpaid

We’re especially looking for:

- Social Media and Communications Interns
Applicants should have a strong command of digital and social media tools

*Preference will be given to candidates based in Lahore and available for in-person work.*

If you’re ready to learn, build, and contribute to one of Pakistan’s leading legal tech platforms, this is your cue.

Send your CV to [email protected]

What would it look like if our laws truly reflected compassion and justice?For many people, drug policy shapes everyday ...
29/04/2026

What would it look like if our laws truly reflected compassion and justice?

For many people, drug policy shapes everyday realities through stigma, incarceration, and exclusion. It raises an urgent question about whether our systems live up to the values they claim to protect.

Islamic jurisprudence and international human rights law both emphasise justice, mercy, and the sanctity of life. Yet responses to non-lethal offences, like drug use, often fall short of these principles.

Join us for Islam and Drug Policy, a conversation bringing together faith, public health, and human rights.

Sarah Belal, Founder and Executive Director of Justice Project Pakistan, will be joined by Prof Dato’ Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Commissioner, Global Commission on Drug Policy; El Mokhtar Al Ayadi, Public Prosecutor, King Court of First Instance of Khemisset, Morocco; and Palani Narayanan, Director, Drug Policy Program Malaysia.

30 April 2026
11am to 12pm CEST

Register now: https://iasociety.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GQM9uXYrS1GvzvroSq1OvQ #/registration

IAS - International AIDS Society
Global Commission on Drug Policy
Monash University Malaysia
International Drug Policy Consortium
Middle East & North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA)

Ever wondered what it really takes to work in human rights?This summer, work at the heart of human rights with Justice P...
27/04/2026

Ever wondered what it really takes to work in human rights?

This summer, work at the heart of human rights with Justice Project Pakistan. Starting from June 2026, our 6-week internship programme offers hands-on experience across Communications, Legal, and Advocacy teams where you won’t just observe the work, you’ll be part of it.

5 days a week
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
In-person (Lahore) | Unpaid

We strongly prefer applicants who are based in Lahore and available to work in person.

If you’re ready to learn, contribute, and engage with issues that matter, we’d like to hear from you.

To apply, send your resume to [[email protected]].

Apply now and see what human rights work actually looks like up close.

Address

Lahore

Telephone

+924236286415

Website

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