PESHAWAR, Nov 4: The Peshawar High Court on Monday reserved its judgment on the question whether the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had the jurisdiction in matters related to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

Heading a single-member bench, Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan heard arguments in three appeals filed by the additional chief secretary of Fata Secretariat and political agent of Khyber Agency against an order of the special judge anti-corruption that FIA could exercise jurisdiction in the Fata-related matters and should continue with the inquiry in certain matters related to Fata Secretariat and tribal agencies.

FIA had begun an inquiry several months ago into the alleged irregularities in taxation, misuse of funds and cattle and fertiliser smuggling in different tribal agencies.

An inquiry officer of FIA had asked the relevant officials of Fata Secretariat to produce the relevant record but to no avail.

The said officer then filed a complaint with Special Judge (Anti-Corruption) Yehya Zahid Gilani under Section 175 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) requesting that the record should be provided to the agency so that the inquiry could be properly conducted.

FIA claimed that around Rs1.6 billion was provided by the federal government to Fata Secretariat and subsequently transferred to the South Waziristan Agency for rehabilitation of internally displaced persons, maintenance of peace bodies (Amn Lashkar) and other functions.

However, it was alleged that most of the amount was transferred back to Fata Secretariat and spent in other agencies, including Khyber Agency, without authorisation.

Fata Secretariat had claimed that it had received proper consent of the federal government on the matter and had the powers to do so. It also questioned the legality of the inquiry conducted by FIA saying it had no jurisdiction in Fata. The special judge (anti-corruption) on March 1, 2013, disposed of the FIA complaint with the observation that it could continue with the said inquiry.

Aggrieved with the said order of the special judge, the three appeals were filed.

Advocate Qazi Mohammad Anwar represented the appellants and said the Federal Investigation Agency Act, 1974 had not been extended to Fata in terms of Article 247 of the Constitution. He said no law enacted by parliament was applicable to the tribal areas unless the country’s president extended a particular law to those areas though an order.