06 June 2004	Sunday	17 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

PESHAWAR, June 5: Two women judges have been appointed as alaqa qazi by the Peshawar High Court for the first time in the Provincially Administered Tribal Area (Pata) since the introduction of Shariah system about a decade ago.

The two women civil judges, Ms Zeba Rashid and Ms Phool Bibi, were transferred from Mansehra and Abbotabad, respectively, to Swat against vacant posts of alaqa qazi there.

The high court's registrar Salim Khan Minakhel issued a notification late Thursday night about postings and transfers of 97 civil judges cum judicial magistrates.

The Shariah system was introduced in Pata in 1994 after superior courts, including the Supreme Court and Peshawar High Court, declared the then PATA Regulations unconstitutional.

A legal vacuum emerged after those judgments and following violent protest and uprising the then government introduced the Provincially Administered Tribal Area Nifaz-e-Nizam-e-Shariah Regulation in November 1994. Later on, in 1998 the shariah regulation was replaced with Nizam-e-Adal Regulations, 1998.

After the introduction of shariah in the Pata in 1994 the nomenclature of judicial officers was changed there.

The designation of judges in Pata is now: zila qazi (district and sessions judge); izafi zila qazi (additional district and sessions judge); aa'la alaqa qazi (senior civil judge or magistrate of first class); and, alaqa qazi (civil judge or judicial magistrate).

Under the Nizam-e-Adal Regulation, the conduct and character of judicial officers shall be in accordance with the Islamic principles.

After the introduction of the shariah system even the inhabitants in some of the districts had objected over appearance of some of the qazis as they did not sport beard.

During the last decade no woman judge was posted in any of the districts of Pata due to the conservative nature of people of these areas including Swat, Upper and Lower Dir, Chitral, Buner, Shangla and Malakand.

"The posting of these two women as alaqa qazi won't create any problem as the level of education in Swat district is much higher than other districts of Pata," said a lawyer hailing from Malakand.