PESHAWAR, July 2: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani has said that under the Hisba Act, cases will be decided on the pattern of the jirga system in consultation with the rival parties. This, he stressed, would lighten the courts’ burden a great deal.

Talking to a delegation of SDC, a Swiss NGO, led by Walton Kallen, here on Tuesday, the chief minister said the Hisba Act would be passed by the provincial assembly through a democratic process, just as the Shariat Bill was passed.

The act would discourage corruption and nepotism, and people would not have to go to court for minor issues. He said the ombudsman’s department will comprise apolitical people, including two senior lawyers, senior journalists and elders of the area.

He dispelled the impression that a special force will be created under the Hisba act, and said the department would take help from the police department whenever needed.

He said all the misconceptions regarding the act will be removed once it was put in force.

The chief minister said the MMA believed in a democratic process. The provincial budget and the Shariat act were passed through the assembly on the basis of this principle.

Mr Durrani said the alliance considered the district governments as nurseries for democracy, and wanted to let this system flourish. He said the alliance wanted the transfer of powers to the lower strata in the real sense.

He, however, said there were a lot of complaints about the district governments’ mode of working, especially with regard to distributions of funds and taking of vital decisions.

He said the government was against concentration of powers within individuals, and this was also against the spirit of the local government ordinance.

He said the provincial government passed the budget after due consultation with the opposition members, and there were no complaints from any side.