PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman has said that his office would be assigned certain powers for a specific period in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) to avoid any legal vacuum.

Talking to journalists at Governor’s House here on Sunday, he said that jirga system (council of elders) would be provided legal cover to resolve disputes among the locals. He said that elders and educated youth would be given representations in the jirga system.

“The jirga system would work on the pattern of dispute resolution council (DRC) introduced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to resolve cases related to minor civil and criminal cases,” said the governor. He said that DRC was very affective and resolved most of the cases out of the court.

Shah Farman says jirga system to work on pattern of dispute resolution council

To a question, he said that Fata was part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after passage of 25th Amendment and the government would soon hold elections for the provincial assembly and local government in seven districts. The government had earlier announced to hold local bodies’ elections in tribal districts in 2018.

However, he said that the governor would get certain powers to fill legal vacuum in the seven districts after reforms. After landmark constitution amendment particularly abolition of Article 247, the governor lost powers and had no significant powers in these seven districts.

“The governor may get some powers for a specific period to avoid creating vacuum in the tribal districts,” said Mr Farman.

He said that the government t would increase incentives for the seven tribal districts and would ensure equitable utilisation of resources in the area. He said that elders and youth of the tribal districts would be taken into confidence before introducing reforms.

The governor said that consultation about reforms in the tribal districts was in progress. He said that the government would not introduce laws, which would affect customs and traditions of the area.

This is worth mentioning that governor has been appointed chairman of the task force comprising chief minister, federal ministers, technocrats, serving and retired bureaucrats to frame set of reforms for the newly merged districts. The task force would also decide fate of the civil secretariat for these districts.

To another question, Mr Farman expressed reservations over Afghan government’s statements that people of erstwhile Fata could visit Afghanistan would passport.

“The Afghan government’s statement has created suspicion. How it is possible to allow entry of people without proper identification and valid travelling documents,” he questioned. He added that people of the two countries should travel with legal documents.

He said that Pakistan had started fencing the Afghan border and introduced border management system to regulate movement between the two countries.

Responding to another query, Mr Farman said that proposal was under consideration to establish museum and family park in the Governor’s House. He said that students of 93 colleges expressed their willingness to visit the Governor’s House.

Earlier students of Jamrud Girls Degree College, Khyber tribal district; and Government Girls Degree College, Gulshan Rehman, Peshawar visited the Governor’s House. They visited different sections of the Governor’s House that was opened specifically for girl students.

The governor has planned that families could visit the Governor’s House on Fridays between 2:00pm to 5:00pm and they would be allowed to bring children below 12 years of age.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2018