PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Friday issued a stay order against a jirga’s decision endorsed by the tribal administration of Dara Adamkhel to allow a man’s legal heirs to take revenge of his murder and kill the main suspect and his five alleged accomplices.

While issuing the order, Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Ikramullah Khan issued separate notices to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa advocate general and assistant political agent and additional district magistrate of Dara Adamkhel, Kohat Frontier Region, to produce the relevant record of the case.

The bench was hearing a petition jointly filed by three members of Zarghunkhel clan of Qasimkhel area, including Malik Mohammad Imran, Fazal Rahim and Nawab Khan, who belongs to the same clan of the accused, including Abdul Wahab and others.

Apart from the jirga’s decision, the petitioners have also challenged an execution petition recently filed by Coal Company Qasimkhel, whose chairman Mohammad Shafiq, was killed in 2014, before the assistant political agent (APA) requesting him to give permission for the implementation of the said jirga decision and also evolve a mechanism for the said implementation.

The applicant has requested the APA to select a place along with the provision of official rifle and six official or unofficial persons or legal heirs of the accused to be killed so that the decision of the jirga could be implemented.

He added that the said decision was endorsed by the commissioner of Kohat division, who was also the Frontier Crimes Regulation commissioner for the said area.

Mian Muhibullah Kakakhel, lawyer for the petitioners, said it was against the Constitution that such jirgas continued to function and issue illegal orders.

He said on July 2, 2014, a roadside robbery took place near Kohat Development Authority, Kohat District, and for the said occurrence, Abdul Wahab was arrested.

The lawyer added that in the occurrence the chairman of Coal Company Qasimkhel, which has been controlling the exploration of coal in the area, was killed, whereas its members, including Mohammad Younis, Shah Hussain and Fazal Raheem, had received injuries.

He said the FIR of the incident was registered in Kohat in which Mohammad Younis was complainant.

The lawyer said the trial of the case was underway in the court of Kohat’s additional district and sessions judge No 4.

He said while the trial was in progress, a local jirga took up the matter and decided it in accordance with the local riwaj (custom) on Dec 16, 2015 saying no one in the area should neither keep any sort of communication with Abdul Wahab nor provide him shelter at home or hujra.

The jirga also announced Abdul Wahab should not be buried anywhere in Dara Adamkhel and all those receiving their share in the income of coal mines should not participate in his funeral.

It also said relatives would not move any court against the killing of Abdul Wahab.

“Coal Company Qasimkhel and legal heirs of the deceased are free to take revenge in accordance with ‘qaumi riwaj’ but they should take revenge only from Abdul Wahab and his accomplices,” the jirga had ruled.

Mr. Kakakhel said under the FCR death penalty was not available in tribal areas.

He asked how death sentence could be executed by a private party instead of state.

The lawyer said applications were filed with the APA and commissioner against the jirga’s decision but they were dismissed.

Published in Dawn December 3rd, 2016